Construction of novel cellulose/chitosan composite hydrogels and films and their applications

In the present study, novel cellulose and chitosan composite hydrogels and films were constructed by directly dissolving cellulose and chitosan in alkali/urea aqueous solutions followed by a facile blending method and a mild coagulation process in an ethyl acetate gaseous phase. The structure and properties of the cellulose/chitosan composite materials were characterized by Field emission scanning electron microscopy, FTIR, wide angle X-ray diffraction, mechanical test and antibacterial experiment etc. The results indicated that there is strong hydrogen bonding interaction between cellulose and chitosan. The composite hydrogels exhibited homogeneous porous structure and the resultant films exhibited relative high light transmittance, indicating good miscibility between cellulose and chitosan due to their structure similarity. The mechanical strength increased with the cellulose content for the composite films, while the equilibrium swelling ratio, antibacterial activity and biocompatibility increased with the chitosan content. Facial mask shaped composite hydrogels with heavy metal ion adsorbability could be prepared facilely by using glass molds. Thus, the composite materials showed potential applications in the facial mask, antimicrobial packaging and water treatment fields.