Open Access

ARTICLE

Photoresponsive Multilayer Films of Chitosan and an Azopolymer

Raquel Fernández^*, Connie Ocando, Susana C. M. Fernandes, Arantxa Eceiza, Agnieszka Tercjak

Group ‘Materials + Technologies’ (GMT), Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Polytechnic School, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Plaza Europa 1, 20018 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain

* Corresponding Author:

Journal of Renewable Materials 2015, 3(1), 49-55. https://doi.org/10.7569/JRM.2014.634134

Received 21 October 2014; Accepted 17 January 2015;

Abstract

The main goal of this work was the development of photoactive multilayer fi lms. Taking into account that chitosan is a biodegradable, biocompatible, nontoxic, and antibacterial biopolymer, the fabrication of chitosanbased multilayer fi lms can be an interesting pathway to obtain biopolymer-based fi lms in which properties can be combined with a light-responsive material, such as an azobenzene-containing polymer. In particular, the layer-by-layer technique was used for the fabrication of the optically active fi lms consisting of alternating layers of chitosan and an azopolymer. The infl uence of the pH and the number of bilayers on the structure and properties of the fi lms was investigated by different experimental techniques and it was found that the roughness and elastic modulus of the multilayer fi lms increased with the decrease in chitosan solution pH. Besides, induced birefringence measurements revealed that a higher level of photoorientation was attained with the decrease in pH and the increase in bilayer number of the developed fi lms.

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Keywords

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