Preparation and Characterization of Biopolymer Chitosan Nanofiber from Coconut Crab Shell

Abstract

The use of coconut crab shell waste as a chitosan product has the potential to be developed as a multifunctional product, especially in the form of the nanofiber. This study aims to prepare and characterization of biopolymer chitosan nanofiber from coconut crab shell. The method used in this study is an ionic gelation method using chitosan coconut crabs (chitosan CC) as the main medium, and the dispersion media is namely tripolyphosphate (TPP) with different concentrations to produce chitosan CC/TPP nanofibers. The chitosan is dissolved using glacial acetic acid 1% (v/v) low pH. Then the solution is dropped into a TPP solution with a concentration of 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.07 % (w/v), using a magnetic stirrer at 600 rpm for 30 minutes. The precipitate obtained is then homogenized using 30 minutes of ultrasonic at λ 60 kHz. The characterization of nanofiber is made with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with a magnification of 10.0kV. The morphological shape of the nanofiber size average value of 73 nm - 610 nm at the concentration of chitosan CC/TPP 0.25% (w/v) and 0.03% (w/v). Particle size analysis (PSA) of chitosan CC/TPP nanofibers (D50) at 536 - 625 nm with an average polydispersity index (PI) of 1.3 - 1.7. FT-IR analysis showed that the presence of functional groups NH, OH, C-C, CH varied in the concentration of 0.03% chitosan CC/TPP with the adsorption peak at wave 3257 cm-1. X-Ray Diffraction shows that chitosan crystallinity obtained from various concentrations of chitosan CC/TPP shows amorphous properties because there are diffraction patterns with peaks between 18.06° - 19.04°. The conclusion is that the best-recommended selection is a concentration of 0.25% chitosan and 0.03% TPP to form nanofibers. The nanofiber biopolymers with the natural suspension of chitosan CC/TPP polymer produce the best pore size and can be considered as a filler in the manufacture of edible films.