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Lookup NU author(s): Professor David XieORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
The effect of graphene oxide (GO) or reduced GO (rGO) on the structure and properties of polyelectrolyte-complexed chitosan/alginate bionanocomposites is highly dependent on plasticiser type (glycerol or 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([C2mim][OAc])) due to the competing interactions between the components. For the glycerol-plasticised chitosan/alginate matrix, inclusion of GO/rGO enhanced the chitosan crystallinity and increased matrix ductility. While the chitosan/alginate matrix plasticised by [C2mim][OAc] showed dramatically weakened interactions between the two biopolymers, GO was highly effective at counteracting the effect of [C2mim][OAc] by interacting with the biopolymers and the ionic liquid ions, resulting in enhanced mechanical properties and decreased surface hydrophilicity. Compared with GO, rGO was much less effective at promoting chitosan–alginate interactions and even resulted in higher surface hydrophilicity. However, irrespective of the plasticiser type, inclusion of rGO resulted in reduced crystallinity by restricting the interactions between [C2mim][OAc] and the biopolymers, and higher ionic conductivity.
Author(s): Chen P, Xie F, Tang F, McNally T
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Carbohydrate Polymers
Year: 2021
Volume: 253
Print publication date: 01/02/2021
Online publication date: 16/10/2020
Acceptance date: 09/10/2020
Date deposited: 23/05/2023
ISSN (print): 0144-8617
ISSN (electronic): 1879-1344
Publisher: Elsevier
URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.117231
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.117231
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