An in situ fabrication of chitosan-TiO₂ transparent nanocomposite films from an acid stabilized TiO₂ sol, and study on their photocatalytic efficiency.
5 affiliations
- 1Centre for Research in Chemical Sciences (CRCS), Department of Chemistry, St. Joseph's College (Autonomous) Irinjalakuda Kerala 680121 India [email protected] [email protected].
- 2University of Calicut Malappuram Kerala 673635 India.
- 3Department of Chemistry, Sree Narayana College, Affiliated to the University of Calicut Nattika Thrissur Kerala 680566 India.
- 4Department of Environmental Studies, Kannur University Mangattuparamba Campus 670567 India.
- 5Department of Engineering for Innovation (DII) - University of Salento Lecce 73100 Italy.
Abstract
Chitosan-TiO₂ nanocomposites in powder form (10 to 60 wt% of chitosan) and in transparent film form (70 to 90 wt% of chitosan) have been synthesized through an in situ method by using an acid stabilized TiO₂ sol. The transparency of these films was evaluated from their optical transmittance measurements. A chitosan-TiO₂ nanocomposite opaque film (with 70 wt% of chitosan) has also been cast through an ex situ method by using TiO₂ nanoparticles, precipitated from the acid stabilized TiO₂ sol. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) analysis confirmed the presence of anatase TiO₂ in both the powder and film forms of the chitosan-TiO₂ nanocomposites. FT-IR analysis revealed the presence of characteristic chitosan peaks in all the synthesized composite samples. SEM-EDX analysis of the composite films substantiated the presence of a TiO₂ coating on the film surface, with a thicker coating observed in the ex situ prepared composite film sample, TC70FP. TEM analysis of the representative transparent composite film (TC70F) and the ex situ cast composite film (TC70FP) further confirmed the presence of TiO₂ in these composite samples. The in situ cast films exhibited superior mechanical properties and enhanced thermal stability, as demonstrated by tensile stress-strain and TGA analyses, respectively. They also showed lower swelling indices, while ICP-MS analysis confirmed negligible TiO₂ leaching from the representative in situ cast film TC70F. The in situ cast representative transparent film, TC-70F, was able to degrade methyl orange (MO) solution under UV light irradiation, whereas the pristine chitosan film (ChF) showed no degradation activity.
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BibTeX
@article{prasad2026situ,
title = {{An in situ fabrication of chitosan-TiO₂ transparent nanocomposite films from an acid stabilized TiO₂ sol, and study on their photocatalytic efficiency.}},
author = {Jyothimol K Prasad and Prabitha E P and Pradeepan Periyat and Sanosh Kunjalukkal Padmanabhan and Manoj A Lazar},
journal = {RSC advances},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1039/d6ra04655j},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42840863},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - An in situ fabrication of chitosan-TiO₂ transparent nanocomposite films from an acid stabilized TiO₂ sol, and study on their photocatalytic efficiency.
AU - Jyothimol K Prasad
AU - Prabitha E P
AU - Pradeepan Periyat
AU - Sanosh Kunjalukkal Padmanabhan
AU - Manoj A Lazar
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/06
JO - RSC advances
DO - 10.1039/d6ra04655j
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42840863
AB - Chitosan-TiO₂ nanocomposites in powder form (10 to 60 wt% of chitosan) and in transparent film form (70 to 90 wt% of chitosan) have been synthesized through an in situ method by using an acid stabilized TiO₂ sol. The transparency of these films was evaluated from their optical transmittance measurements. A chitosan-TiO₂ nanocomposite opaque film (with 70 wt% of chitosan) has also been cast through an ex situ method by using TiO₂ nanoparticles, precipitated from the acid stabilized TiO₂ sol. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) analysis confirmed the presence of anatase TiO₂ in both the powder and film forms of the chitosan-TiO₂ nanocomposites. FT-IR analysis revealed the presence of characteristic chitosan peaks in all the synthesized composite samples. SEM-EDX analysis of the composite films substantiated the presence of a TiO₂ coating on the film surface, with a thicker coating observed in the ex situ prepared composite film sample, TC70FP. TEM analysis of the representative transparent composite film (TC70F) and the ex situ cast composite film (TC70FP) further confirmed the presence of TiO₂ in these composite samples. The in situ cast films exhibited superior mechanical properties and enhanced thermal stability, as demonstrated by tensile stress-strain and TGA analyses, respectively. They also showed lower swelling indices, while ICP-MS analysis confirmed negligible TiO₂ leaching from the representative in situ cast film TC70F. The in situ cast representative transparent film, TC-70F, was able to degrade methyl orange (MO) solution under UV light irradiation, whereas the pristine chitosan film (ChF) showed no degradation activity.
SN - 2046-2069
ER -