The synergistic effect of glycerol and sodium chloride on the degree of chitin nano-whisker gels reinforcement

Abstract

As renewable and biodegradable nanoparticles, chitin nano-whiskers (CNWs) are receiving more attention especially for food or medical industries. Actually, the successful application of nanomaterials requires a better understanding of the viscoelastic properties of chitin CNWs and the interactions among materials in the gels. To provide an increased application of CNWs in the fields related to polysaccharide and protein-based nanocomposite materials, we analyzed the rheological properties of CNW gels in the presence of various glycerol (Gly) and NaCl electrolyte concentrations. The values of the viscosity and G′ increased as well as the gel behavior (tanδ < 1) of CNW gels gradually improved with increasing Gly or CNWs concentrations, respectively. Especially, compared with the above \CNW gels, the NaCl remarkably increased the viscosity and G′ values of CNWs in Gly solution. As the attractive interactions between CNWs and CNWs/Gly/NaCl were enhanced with increasing of NaCl concentration, the G′ values of CNW gels were enhanced remarkably, and thereby the gel-like response of network structure was also strengthened markedly.