Preparation of a Chitin/Clay Hybrid Film by a Mechanochemical Method

Abstract

Development of a facile and environmentally benign route to shaping chitin into macroscopic forms is one of the important and challenging issues for designing sustainable biopolymer materials. Here, we report a methodology to process chitin into a free-standing film by the mechanochemical mixing of chitin powder with an aqueous suspension of a smectite clay mineral (synthetic saponite) and subsequent casting of the suspension on a flat polytetrafluoroethylene plate. The chitin/clay hybrid film exhibits properties such as flexibility, stiffness, and water resistance. This simple and green route for processing chitin into the free-standing film is expected to be a useful way for the fabrication of biopolymer-based functional materials.

Nanochitin: Chemistry, Structure, Assembly, and Applications

“…Nanochitin films produced from neat suspensions can be tailored to achieve high transparency and mechanical strength. The design and development of composite nanochitin films consider the incorporation of secondary components to fabricate high-performance films, also adding new functions. ,, For instance, optically transparent ChNF films that include (meth)­acrylic resins, using either pristine or acetylated ChNF, were developed (Figure a), showing significant increases in the moduli and tensile strength . In particular, the films exhibited low coefficient of thermal expansion (Figure b) .…”