원문정보
초록
영어
Hydrogels are 3D polymer networks that can absorb and hold huge amounts of water. Hydrogels are applied in various fields including biomedical, agriculture, biosensing, and pollutant removal. Nanocellulose as a biodegradable and renewable polymer attracted great attention in hydrogel preparation. However, the use of chemical crosslinkers such as epichlorohydrin and glutaraldehyde poses toxicity concerns. This study explores the use of surface-deacetylated chitin nanofiber (ChNF) as a non-toxic and biocompatible crosslinker for nanocellulose. Upon mixing, positively charged ChNF was bound to negatively charged TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibrils (TOCNF) via electrostatic interactions. Further heating resulted in the crosslinking of carboxyl groups of TOCNF with amine groups of ChNF via amide bond formation. Amidation was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and the effect of temperature and concentration on hydrogel formation was studied. Compared to the pristine nanocellulose hydrogels, crosslinked hydrogels exhibited good shape stability.