Dielectric characterization of neutralized and nonneutralized chitosan upon drying.

Isothermal dielectric loss spectra of neutralized and nonneutralized chitosan were acquired in successive runs from -130 degrees C up to increasing final temperatures, in a frequency range between 20 Hz and 1 MHz. Essentially, three relaxation processes were detected in the temperature range covered: (i) a beta-wet process, detected when the sample has a higher water content that vanishes after heating to 150 degrees C; (ii) a beta process, which is located at temperatures below 0 degrees C, becoming better defined and maintaining its location after annealing at 150 degrees C independently of the protonation state of the amino side group; and (iii) a sigma process that deviates to higher temperatures with drying, being more mobile in the nonneutralized form. Moreover, in dried neutralized chitosan, a fourth process was detected in the low frequency side of the secondary beta process that diminishes after annealing. Whether this process is a distinct relaxation of the dried polymer or a deviated beta-wet process due to the loss of water residues achieved by annealing is not straightforward. Only beta and sigma processes persist after annealing at 150 degrees C. The changes in molecular mobility upon drying of these two relaxation processes were evaluated.