Dissolution and gelation of α-chitin nanofibers using a simple NaOH treatment at low temperatures

In this study, both alpha-chitin powders and nanofibers were successfully dissolved in 20 wt% NaOH solutions at low temperatures. Elemental analysis confirmed that this NaOH-freezing treatment did not cause deacetylation of chitin. After heating and neutralizing with water, chitin hydrogels could be prepared. X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscope data demonstrated that these two hydrogels formed typical regenerated microporous structures with low crystallinity, which was caused by the dissolution process. Based on this result, cold ethanol was used for alpha-chitin nanofibers during the initial stages of neutralization, which effectively prevented the dissolution and decrease in crystallinity and was even able to preserve the continuous network structure of original nanofiber. This gelation behavior seems to be attributed to interdigitation and aggregation between neighboring nanofibers in cold alkali solution leading to the shrinkage of the hydrogel. In general, by avoiding the dissolution process, highly crystalline hydrogel based on alpha-chitin nanofibers was prepared by a simple NaOH treatment without use of any other chemical solvents or cross-linking agents. We expect this new type of hydrogel could be promoted to wide applications and research studies as novel green nanomaterials.