Study on the heterogeneous degradation of chitosan with H(2)O(2) catalyzed by a new supermolecular assembly crystal: [C(6)H(8)N(2)](6)H(3)[PW(12)O(40)].2H(2)O.

A new supermolecular assembly crystal, [C(6)H(8)N(2)](6)H(3)[PW(12)O(40)].2H(2)O (DMB-PWA), was synthesized with phosphotungstic acid (PWA) and 1,2-diaminobenzene (DMB) under hydrothermal conditions and was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectra (FTIR) and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. DMB-PWA could effectively catalyze oxidative degradation of chitosan with H(2)O(2) in the heterogeneous phase. The optimum degradation conditions were determined by orthogonal tests as follows: amount of chitosan 1.00 g, 30% (wt %); H(2)O(2), 3.0 mL; dosage of catalyst, 0.06 g; reaction temperature, 85 degrees C; and reaction time, 30 min. The water-soluble chitosan with a viscosity-average molecular weight (M(v)) of 4900 was obtained under the optimum degradation conditions and was characterized by FTIR, ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflection spectra (UV-vis DRS), and X-ray powder diffraction analysis. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.