Fragmentation of Chitosan by Acids

Table 1

Intrinsic viscosity, (𝜂), of chitosans in 0.25 M HAc/0.25 M NaAc, viscosity-average molecular weight, 𝑀_𝑣, and average number of chain scissions, 𝛼, for the fragments prepared by hydrolysis fragmentation of 1.0% chitosan at different reaction times with 0. 5 M HCl at 65°C.

Chitosan sample	Reaction time (min)	(η) (dL/g)	𝑀𝑣  (kDa)	α
Original	—	14.37	2038	—
F1	13	8.68	1076	0.89
F2	35	6.25	710	1.87
F3	62	4.68	493	3.13
F4	128	2.93	272	6.49
F5	212	2.26	196	9.42
F6	300	1.89	156	12.06
F7	480	1.32	99.2	19.50
F8	675	1.28	95.5	20.45
F9	1320	1.23	90.8	21.44
F10	2160	1.05	73.8	26.24