Synthesis and characterization of macrocyclic polyamine derivative of chitosan

A novel macrocyclic polyamine derivative of chitosan was synthesized by a reaction between chitosan and epoxy‐activated macrocyclic polyamine. The copolymer that is obtained contains amino functional groups in its skeleton and secondary amine and more polar hydroxyl groups. Four types of analyses were used to characterize the chemical modifications of the chitosan: elemental, FTIR spectra, solid‐state ¹³C‐NMR, and X‐ray diffraction. The adsorption properties of the macrocyclic polyamine grafted chitosan for Ag⁺, Cu²⁺, Co²⁺, and Cr³⁺ were also investigated. The experimental results showed that the new macrocyclic polyamine derivative of chitosan has high adsorption capacity and good selectivity for Ag⁺ in the presence of Ag⁺, Co²⁺, and Cr³⁺. The selectivity coefficients were K = 6.16, K = 14.81, and K = 2.42, respectively. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 924–929, 2003