Chitosan/chitin whiskers composite membranes with polyethylene glycol for removal of cadmium ions

Biopolymer based membranes have garnered remarkable attention as an alternative to synthetic polymer based membranes due to exceptional properties such as biocompatibility, renewable, biodegradability and environmentally-benign. In this study, a novel porous chitosan/chitin whiskers composite membrane was successfully fabricated with the extraction of polyethylene glycol (PEG) for the removal of cadmium ions. The physicochemical and mechanical properties of selected composite samples were examined by varying the amount of chitin and PEG concentration respectively. Surface morphologies characterization study proves that highly porous structure is induced through the PEG dissolution meanwhile incorporation of chitin whiskers aids to produce a well-dispersed membrane with smaller pore size. Herein, strong interfacial adhesion between chitosan and chitin leads to interconnected network and increase in compactness of the matrix. Furthermore, these composite membranes exhibited high efficiency in cadmium ions removal. Overall, this study provides a framework on understanding the way to control the pore size, physicochemical and mechanical properties of polymer membranes using PEG and chitin whiskers. Thus, these bio-composite membranes have a great potential to be extensively employed in wastewater treatment.