Abstract
Structured biofoams with aligned porous structures were fabricated from nanosized chitin by employing a directional freeze-casting technique. The effects of the freezing conditions and slurry formulation on nanochitin foam morphology were investigated. The morphology of obtained foams was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that the pore structure of the obtained foams was a likewise of the ice crystals formed during the directional freezing. The results indicate that directional freeze-casting protocol can significantly influence the morphological features and microstructures of the obtained biofoams which could have numerous applications, including engineered carriers, scaffolds, filters and specifically as a template for potential multi-layered composites after infusion with a second phase.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 277-283 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Carbohydrate Polymers |
| Volume | 112 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Nov 4 2014 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
Y.M. Zhou is grateful to China Scholarship Council for awarding a scholarship under the State Scholarship Fund to pursue her study. This work will be used by Y.M. Zhou for partial fulfillment of the degree requirement for her doctoral research in the State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering at South China University of Technology, China. This work was partially supported by USDA Forest Service R&D special funding on Cellulose Nano-Materials (2012).
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| USDA Forest Service R&D special funding on Cellulose Nano-Materials | |
| China Scholarship Council |
Keywords
- Aligned porous structures
- Chitin foams
- Directional freeze-casting
- Slurry formulation