Alkaline Treatment of Chitosan Membranes

Abstract

Derived from deacetylation of chitin, which is one of the most abundant natural polymers, chitosan has been drawing extensive attention due to its outstanding properties, and potential in many applications in the forms of membranes, fibers, and gels. Insoluble in water and most common organic solvents, chitosan membranes are typically prepared by dissolving chitosan into a dilute organic acid to protonate its amino groups. Thus, after membrane preparation, an insolubilization step is necessary to deprotonate the amino groups. However, this process is always excessive, and the effects of alkaline treatment conditions have not been well studied. This study focuses on the influence of conditions in the alkaline treatment to improve membrane stability.