ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Membr. Sci. Technol.
Sec. Membrane Formation and Structure
Volume 4 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frmst.2025.1552368
Preparation of biodegradable membrane utilizing chitosan and polyvinyl alcohol, and assessment of its performance after coating with graphene conductive ink
Provisionally accepted
- Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
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Biodegradable membranes are crucial for environmental applications, offering sustainable and lowimpact solutions. These membranes play a vital role in biodegradable batteries by separating the anode and cathode while facilitating proton movement. The aim of this study is to develop a biodegradable membrane using biodegradable polymers such as chitosan (CS) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), reinforced with filter paper. This research synthesized a cost-effective, biodegradable membranes using CS, PVA, and a 1:1 CS/PVA composite through solution-casting. The membranes were reinforced with cellulose filter paper and coated with water-resistant graphene conductive ink. Performance metrics, including swelling ratios, water uptake, ion exchange capacity, oxygen diffusion, proton conductivity, and degradation in compost tea, were evaluated. Uncoated CS membrane exhibited the highest water uptake (94.10%), while uncoated PVA membrane demonstrated the highest swelling ratio (150%) and ion exchange capacity (3.94 meq/g). Coated CS/PVA membrane showed the lowest oxygen diffusion coefficient (0.058×10⁻⁵ cm²/s) and the highest proton conductivity (1.74 S/cm). All membranes exhibited slow degradation over 100 days. The findings of this research have significant implications beyond the laboratory, presenting a biodegradable, cost-effective, and environmentally sustainable alternative to conventional membranes. These membranes can be utilized in the construction of biobatteries, which, in turn, can be employed to power low-cost devices.
Keywords: membrane, biopolymer, Chitosan, Polyvinyl Alcohol, Graphene conductive ink
Received: 27 Dec 2024; Accepted: 04 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Meshram, Jourdin and Pande. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Sumit Maya Moreshwar Meshram, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
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