Heterogeneous degradation of chitosan with H2O2 catalysed by phosphotungstate

Phosphotungstate (PTA), an insoluble catalyst synthesized with phosphotungstic acid (PWA) and chitosan in acidic reaction system by electrostatic attraction. The catalyst was characterized by DRS and FTIR spectra. Under the catalysis of PTA, the heterogeneous degradation of chitosan with H2O2 was achieved. The effect of volume of H2O2, dosage of catalyst, reaction temperature and time on the degradation was discussed by orthogonal tests. The experimental results show that chitosan can be effectively degradated with H2O2 under the catalysis of PTA. The catalyst, PTA, may have a promising application in oxidative degradation of polymer.