Chitosan is a polymer which is easily obtained from the deacetylation of chitin, the second most abundant natural polymer. It offers attractive chemical and physical properties, including those required to obtain membranes. In this study, chitosan in chloridric acid solution was chemically modified with sulfosuccinic acid (SSA), which acts as a crosslinking agent and proton donor. The chloridric acid medium promotes the crosslinking reaction through inducing the protonation of free carboxyl groups. The membrane was obtained through casting of poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVAL) and chitosan-SSA solution. The influence of the SSA content on the crosslinking degree of the chitosan was evaluated through FTIR analysis. The ion exchange capacity (IEC) and water absorption values were also related to the SSA content in the systems. The physicochemical characteristics, such as the proton and electrical conductivity values, indicated the viability of the utilization of these materials as polymer electrolyte membranes (PEM) in fuel cells.
crosslinked chitosan; sulfosuccinic acid; poly(vinyl alcohol); proton conductivity
