Formation features and AFM studies of the silicon-chitosan-containing glycerohydrogel surface

Hybrid glycerohydrogels based on silicon tetraglycerolate and chitosan were produced by means of one-pot sol-gel synthesis. The influence of the component composition (the concentration of the template and precursor), the low-molecular-weight accelerator (NaCl), and the conditions of the process (pH, temperature) on the gelling duration was estimated. The glycerohydrogel surface microrelief was visualized by AFM in the semi-contact mode and the standard roughness parameters were calculated. The silicon-chitosan-containing glycerohydrogels were established to have a complex surface relief. Their solid sol-gel matrix is characterized by a uniform distribution of elements of the inorganic phase and a developed microporous structure with amorphous-crystalline ordering. The scale of the surface irregularities, as well as their structural and morphological features and the crystallinity degree of the solid sol-gel matrix, are determined by the template/precursor weight ratio and the molecular weight of the polymer. (paper)