Graphene oxide cross-linked chitosan nanocomposite membrane

Graphene oxide (GO) cross-linked chitosan (CS) nanocomposite membrane is firstly reported in this study. At elevated temperatures, the cross-linking reaction between amino groups of CS and epoxy groups of GO happens which significantly affects the properties of membranes. The physicochemical properties of nanocomposite membranes have been examined by various methods including the gel content test, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and tensile strength test. Interestingly, the tensile strength of chitosan membranes is greatly improved by GO incorporation. The 1 wt% loading of GO can improve the tensile strength from 43.2 MPa to 104.2 MPa with the increment of 141%. This should be attributed to the effective load transfer between GO and CS arising from the good interfacial properties after cross-linking reactions. Therefore, the biocompatible nanocomposite membranes with enhanced physicochemical properties are promising for diverse applications.