Effect of chitin nanofiber on the morphological and physicalproperties of chitosan/silver nanoparticle bionanocomposite films

The effects of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) at 1% wt. and different concentrations of chitin nanofiber(CHNF) (1.5–6% wt.) on tensile properties, water vapor permeability (WVP), solubility, swelling, colorproperties and morphological characteristics of chitosan nanocomposite films were studied. FTIR resultsconfirmed that the affinity of CHNF for interaction with chitosan chains is more than AgNPs. SEM imagesshowed that CHNF was uniformly distributed in the polymer matrix. X-ray diffraction confirmed thatthe degree of crystallinity was increased by addition of 6% CHNF. Response surface methodology (RSM)was used to determine the optimum amount of CHNF as nano filler. The optimization was based onmaximizing tensile strength, Young’s modulus, elongation at break, L* and decreasing WVP, solubility andswelling. The results showed that the AgNPs had a negative effect on mechanical and color properties ofchitosan films. But incorporation of CHNF improved their mechanical and barrier properties significantly.Lowest WVP, solubility and swelling of nanocomposite films were respectively for 6, 2 and 2% wt. of CHNFcontent. Considering all physical and mechanical parameters, the optimal value calculated for CHNF, was4.55%.

Chitosan filmChitin nanofiberPhysical propertiesOptimization