Mechanical Reinforcement of Wool Fiber through Polyelectrolyte Complexation with Chitosan and Gellan Gum

Fibers

Khairul Anuar Mat Amin¹ 

[1] Soft Materials Group, School of Chemistry, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia; E-Mails:

关键词: mechanical properties;    polyelectrolyte complex;    chitosan;    gellan gum;    wool;   

DOI  :  10.3390/fib1030047

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The formation of polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) wool fibers formed by dipping chitosan or gellan gum-treated wool fibers into biopolymer solutions of opposite charge is reported. Treating wool fibers with chitosan (CH) and gellan gum (GG) solutions containing food dyes resulted in improved mechanical characteristics compared to wool fibers. In contrast, pH modification of the solutions resulted in the opposite effect. The mechanical characteristics of PEC-treated fibers were affected by the order of addition, i.e., dipping GG-treated fibers into chitosan resulted in mechanical reinforcement, whereas the reverse-order process did not.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.