Interaction of water soluble chitosan with multiwalled carbon nanotubes

Abstract A water soluble chitosan derivative ( p ‐chitosan) was synthesized and used to functionalize multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) through the noncovalent interaction. The interaction of p ‐chitosan with MWCNTs was investigated by analyzing the spectra of ultraviolet‐visible, Fourier transform infrared, Raman, and X‐ray photoelectron. Circular dichroism spectroscopy was used to study the interaction as well. The results of the circular dichroism spectra indicate that, the interaction of p ‐chitosan with MWCNT makes p ‐chitosan less regularly structured. It was found that the interaction of p ‐chitosan with MWCNTs at a lower temperature is stronger than that at a higher temperature; pH conditions affect the interaction between p ‐chitosan and MWCNTs. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2012