INFLUENCE OF DEGREE OF MOLAR ETHERIFICATION ON CRITICAL LIQUID CRYSTAL BEHAVIOR OF TWO HYDROXY ALKYL CHITOSAN DERIVTIVES

摘要

Hydroxypropyl chitosan (HPCS) and hydroxyethyl chitosan (HECS) with different degree of molar etherification (DME) were synthesized and characterized by FTIR, ~1HNMR and elemental analysis. The effect of DME on critical concentration forming lyotropic liquid crystal (C~*) was investigated in two solvents. C~* increased as DME raised but presented a platform at low DME ( < about 2.6 for HPCS and 2.5 for HECS), which was explained based on both the amount and the size of flexible substituents.