Physicochemical Characterization and the Comparison of Chitin and Chitin Modified with Maleic Anhydride

Firstly, chitin was modified via ring-opening reaction with maleic anhydride in lithium chloride/ N,N-dimethylacetamide. Then, both chitin and chitin modified with maleic anhydride (CMA) were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) method, ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was performed to investigate the thermal stability of chitin and CMA. TGA results showed that chitin is thermally more stable than CMA. In addition, the electrical conductivity of chitin and CMA was also measured. Electrical conductivity measurement results showed that the electrical conductivity of CMA (4.3x10-4 S cm-1) is more than that of chitin (6.5 x 10-6 S cm-1).