Surface characterization of chitin by inverse gas chromatography

The surface properties of a chitin (degree of deacetylation was 33.6%) were quantification ally analyzed by inverse gas chromatography (IGC) in this work. Four n-alkanes (C-5, C-6, C-7, and C-8) were chosen as apolar probes to characterize the dispersive component of free energy. Trichloromethane (CHCl3), acetone, ether and tetrahydrofuran (THF) were chosen as polar probes to detect the Lewis acid-base parameters. It was found the dispersive component of free energy was 37.58, 42.12, 45.70, and 51.69 mJ/m(2) at 40, 50, 60, and 70 degrees C, respectively. The Lewis acidic number K-a was 0.0793, and the basic number K-b was 0.7936. The result means the chitin is a Lewis basic polymer. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.