Chitosan composites with nanohydroxyapatite prepared by wet chemical reaction along with microwave irradiation: permeability and swelling aspects

This paper reports the properties of chitosan (CS) reinforced with varying weight percentage of hydroxyapatite (HA) particles with respect to physical and chemical properties. Coprecipitation process of calcium nitrate tetrahydrate and phosphoric acid followed by microwave irradiation was used to synthesize nanosize rod‐shaped HA. The prepared powder was characterized using various chemical and physical methods. HA filled CS composites in different weight percentages were prepared by solvent casting method. The mechanical, thermal, and degradation studies of the composites showed improvement in properties indicating good filler‐matrix interaction in the composites. The highlights are the improvement in the thermal stability of the composites, significant reduction of gas permeability through the membranes, increase in the hydrophilicity of the composites and reduction in water swelling rate with respect to the filler content. POLYM. COMPOS., 39:718–729, 2018. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers