Abstract
Light weight and mechanically strong α-chitin aerogels were fabricated using the sol-gel/self-assembly method from α-chitin in different aqueous alkali hydroxide (KOH, NaOH and LiOH)/urea solutions. All of the α-chitin solutions exhibited temperature-induced rapid gelation behavior. 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra revealed that the aqueous alkali hydroxide/ urea solutions are non-derivatizing solvents for α-chitin. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and cross-polarization magic angle spinning (CP/MAS) 13C NMR confirmed that α-chitin has a stable aggregate structure after undergoing dissolution and regeneration. Subsequently, nanostructured α-chitin aerogels were fabricated by regeneration from the chitin solutions in ethanol and then freeze-drying from t-BuOH. These α-chitin aerogels exhibited high porosity (87% to 94%), low density (0.09 to 0.19 g/cm3), high specific surface area (419 to 535 m2/g) and large pore volume (2.7 to 3.8 cm3/g). Moreover, the α-chitin aerogels exhibited good mechanical properties under compression and tension models. In vitro studies showed that mBMSCs cultured on chitin hydrogels have good biocompatibility. These nanostructured α-chitin aerogels may be useful for various applications, such as catalyst supports, carbon aerogel precursors and biomedical materials.
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Light weight, mechanically strong and biocompatible α-chitin aer-ogels from different aqueous alkali hydroxide/urea solutions
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Ding, B., Zhao, D., Song, J. et al. Light weight, mechanically strong and biocompatible α-chitin aerogels from different aqueous alkali hydroxide/urea solutions. Sci. China Chem. 59, 1405–1414 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-016-0205-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-016-0205-5