Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol.53, No.45, 17597-17603, 2014
Acid-Catalyzed Synthesis of Foamed Materials from Renewable Sources
In this study, lightweight biobased foamed materials were successfully synthesized by the modification of renewable polysaccharides, such as starch and microcrystalline cellulose. Low-cost and nontoxic organic acids were utilized as catalysts in the first-step esterification reaction of the synthesis. The effects of different reaction conditions on the water absorbency and weight loss of freeze-casted polysaccharidecitratechitosan foams are discussed. Physical properties, such as pore-size distributions and compressive stressstrain curves, of the foams were determined. The characterization results show that the amide bonds formed between the carboxylic acid groups of polysaccharidecitrate and the amino groups of chitosan are crucial to the foamed materials performance.