Preparation and characterization of chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol) blend fibers

Chitosan and poly(vinyl alcohol) blend fibers were prepared by spinning their solution through a viscose-type spinneret at 25 degreesC into a coagulating bath containing aqueous NaOH and ethanol. The influence of coagulation solution composition on the spinning performance was discussed, and the intermolecular interactions of blend fibers were studied by infrared analysis (IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron micrograph (SEM) and by measurements of mechanical properties and water-retention properties. The results demonstrated that the water-retention properties and mechanical properties of the blend fibers increase due to the presence of PVA in the chitosan substract, and the mechanical strength of the blends is also related to PVA content and the degree of deacetylation of chitosan. The best mechanical strength values of the blend fibers, 1.82 cN/d (dry state) and 0.81 cN/d (wet state), were obtained when PVA content was 20 wt % and the degree of deacetylation of chitosan was 90.2%. The strength of the blend fibers, especially wet tenacity could be improved further by crosslinking with glutaraldehyde. The water-retention values (WRV) of the blend fibers were between 170 and 241%, obviously higher than pure chitosan fiber (120%). The structure analysis indicated that there are strong interaction and good miscibility between chitosan and poly(vinyl alcohol) molecular resulted from intermolecular hydrogen bonds. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.