Title: Study on the Influence of Lactic and Acetic acid Blending on the Synthesis of Chitosan Hydrogel bead Adsorbent
Authors: Ketebu ,O., William-Porbeni, D. Morah, F.C.
Volume: 10
Issue: 5
Pages: 54-59
Publication Date: 2026/05/28
Abstract:
Chitosan hydrogel beads are synthesized beads from chitosan with reactive functional groups such as amino and hydroxyl groups with unique properties that can be applied in biomedical, catalytic, waste treatment, and in material immobilization. It is often used in the formation of adsorbents in chemical engineering for heavy metal removal. This paper studies on the influence of lactic and acetic acid blending on the synthesis of chitosan hydrogel bead adsorbent. The experimental results showed that chitosan beads obtained from the acid blend is more stable compared to lactic acid or acetic acid-based beads respectively. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed that exposure to light and temperature and time during characterization melted the acetic acid base and lactic acid-based beads to form gels, X-ray diffractograms (XRD) of the chitosan hydrogel beads showed similar broad diffraction peaks at 2? angles of approximately 16o and 22 o corresponding to 020 and 220 plans of chitosan for the blend and the individual acid prepared beads. This showed that the chitosan hydrogel beads formed are amorphous in nature which is due to the inability of chitosan chains to recover its original close-packed crystalline form when the chitosan is dissolved in the acidic solutions. These findings were corroborated with the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) which showed that lactic acid and lactic and acetic acid blend synthesized beads, had similar C-H bonding at wavelengths 2877 cm-1 and 2870 cm-1, respectively, O-H bonds at wavelength range (2200 cm-1 to 2500 cm-1). Also, CH2 at wavelength (1457 cm-1 and 1467 cm-1), similar C-O stretching, CH3, and C-O-C bonds. Indicating that the lactic acid greatly affected the properties of the acid blend, thus improving the properties of the acid blend which improved the stability of the beads.