Rheological and mechanical studies of chitosan blends with the addition of an ionic liquid

In the present paper, results from rheological measurements and tensile tests of polymer blends containing chitosan and poly(vinyl alcohol) with different additions of an ionic liquid are presented. Flow measurements were carried out using solutions of pure polymers and their blends with and without the addition of an ionic liquid. It has been observed that the polymer solutions and their blends exhibited non-Newtonian behaviour. Rheological parameters from the power law and activation energy of viscous flow were determined and discussed. Mechanical properties, such as the tensile strength and ultimate percentage of elongation of films, have been determined and compared. This study thus shows that the addition of an ionic liquid is an effective method for improving the flexibility of chitosan blends.