Comment on Aspects of Chitosan Preparation

The deacetylation of chitin was studied as a function of NaOH concentration, reaction time and temperature as determined by acid‐base titration. Deacetylation was performed by classical heating or under microwave irradiation. Microwave experiments were carried out to compare the results with selected examples from the Chinese literature. The maximum degree of deacetylation (88 %) was obtained after 30 min of classical heating (135 °C) in 50 wt % NaOH solution. Chitosan, a product of chitin deacetylation, has great potential across a wide spectrum of applications in catalysis. Deacetylation was studied under various conditions and the influence of the reaction parameters on the degree of deacetylation was evaluated and discussed.