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<p>The sustainable production of nanostructured biopolymers is central to advancing green materials for various applications. Here, we present a green and scalable approach that integrates maleic acid hydrolysis with steam explosion pretreatment to produce chitin nanostructures. Maleic acid, a weak dicarboxylic organic acid, was selected for its low toxicity, recoverability, and compatibility with circular economic principles. The steam explosion treatment was applied for one to five cycles, with each cycle involving a rapid pressure release, to investigate how successive treatments influenced chitin nanostructures yield and characteristics. The process enabled the simultaneous production of chitin nanocrystals (ChNCs) and nanofibers (ChNFs), with ChNC yield increasing from 21.23% to 25.67% and ChNF yield decreasing from 69.85% to 62.34% as the number of cycles increased. Morphologically, ChNCs exhibited rod- to needle-like structures, with average length decreasing from 635.5 to 382.97&#xa0;nm and width from 47.85 to 32.94&#xa0;nm, while ChNFs formed fibrous networks with average widths decreasing from 43.07 to 40.22&#xa0;nm. Dynamic light scattering analysis showed a reduction in particle size from 347.2 to 194.0&#xa0;nm for ChNCs and from 749.8 to 456.3&#xa0;nm for ChNFs. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed an increase in crystallinity index from 79.32% (raw chitin) to 84.32% for ChNCs and up to 89.37% for ChNFs. Both nanostructures exhibited negative surface charge (− 22.56 to − 34.00&#xa0;mV), attributed to surface esterification, which was confirmed by FTIR through the appearance of a characteristic peak at 1718&#xa0;cm⁻<sup>1</sup>. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated comparable thermal stability, with slight variations due to surface functionalization and particle size differences. The maleic acid–steam explosion strategy provides a green, non-toxic, and sustainable pathway for chitin nanostructure production with broad application potential. The resulting nanochitin provides a renewable and biodegradable alternative to conventional synthetic, non-biodegradable materials, highlighting its relevance to environmental polymer science.</p>

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Steam Explosion Pretreatment Using Maleic Acid Enables Eco-Friendly Production of Chitin Nanostructures

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月17日

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  • Soibam Ngasotter,
  • K. A. Martin Xavier,
  • Layana Porayil,
  • Amjad Khansaheb Balange,
  • Binaya Bhusan Nayak,
  • George Ninan

摘要

The sustainable production of nanostructured biopolymers is central to advancing green materials for various applications. Here, we present a green and scalable approach that integrates maleic acid hydrolysis with steam explosion pretreatment to produce chitin nanostructures. Maleic acid, a weak dicarboxylic organic acid, was selected for its low toxicity, recoverability, and compatibility with circular economic principles. The steam explosion treatment was applied for one to five cycles, with each cycle involving a rapid pressure release, to investigate how successive treatments influenced chitin nanostructures yield and characteristics. The process enabled the simultaneous production of chitin nanocrystals (ChNCs) and nanofibers (ChNFs), with ChNC yield increasing from 21.23% to 25.67% and ChNF yield decreasing from 69.85% to 62.34% as the number of cycles increased. Morphologically, ChNCs exhibited rod- to needle-like structures, with average length decreasing from 635.5 to 382.97 nm and width from 47.85 to 32.94 nm, while ChNFs formed fibrous networks with average widths decreasing from 43.07 to 40.22 nm. Dynamic light scattering analysis showed a reduction in particle size from 347.2 to 194.0 nm for ChNCs and from 749.8 to 456.3 nm for ChNFs. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed an increase in crystallinity index from 79.32% (raw chitin) to 84.32% for ChNCs and up to 89.37% for ChNFs. Both nanostructures exhibited negative surface charge (− 22.56 to − 34.00 mV), attributed to surface esterification, which was confirmed by FTIR through the appearance of a characteristic peak at 1718 cm⁻1. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated comparable thermal stability, with slight variations due to surface functionalization and particle size differences. The maleic acid–steam explosion strategy provides a green, non-toxic, and sustainable pathway for chitin nanostructure production with broad application potential. The resulting nanochitin provides a renewable and biodegradable alternative to conventional synthetic, non-biodegradable materials, highlighting its relevance to environmental polymer science.