THE STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF CHITOSAN/POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL/SILICA TERNARY HYBRID ORGANIC-INORGANIC FILMS

The ternary hybrid films consisting of chitosan (CS), polyethylene glycol (PEG) and nano-sized silica which was surface-modified by amino groups (RNSA) were prepared. The structures of the blend membranes were characterized by attenuation total reflection-infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscopy (OM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results showed that the addition of silica affected not only the distribution and crystallinity of PEG on the sample surface, but also the phase coarseness and the crystalline structure of chitosan in the blend system. Moreover, PEG changed the crystalline structure of chitosan. Upon annealing (at 100 degrees C for 1 h), the blends would show the altered crystalline structure of chitosan, the reinforced phase coarseness, as well as the decreased miscibility and interaction between chitosan and PEG.