Surface modification of chitin and chitosan with poly(3-hexylthiophene) via oxidative polymerization

In the present work, the modification of biomaterials such as chitin and chitosan were successfully prepared by directly grafting poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) to their surfaces using simple oxidative polymerization with FeCl 3. The thermal stability and crystallinity of grafted chitin and chitosan changed upon grafting with P3HT. The build-up of π-π * structure from the P3HT on the surface of chitin and chitosan resulted in the appearance of UV–vis absorption and fluorescence emission peaks in the range from 500 to 600 nm. Introducing P3HT to the surface of chitin and chitosan improved significantly the electrical property of chitin and chitosan with the increase in conductivity from 10 −9 to 10 −7 S/cm. Furthermore, the usual behavior of hydrophilic surface of chitin and chitosan that turned to hydrophobic with water contact angle of 97.7° and 107.0°, respectively in the presence of P3HT. The mechanism for graft reaction of P3HT to chitin and chitosan was also proposed and discussed.