A semi-interpenetrating polymer network (semi-IPN) hydrogel composed of crosslinked chitosan and poly (acrylic acid-co-crotonic acid) was prepared in the presence of glutaraldehyde (GA) as a crosslinker. Fourier-transform infrared, thermogravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy were employed to confirm the structure of the semi-IPN hydrogel. The swelling capacity of hydrogel was shown to be affected by the monomers weight ratio, chitosan content, initiator and GA concentrations. The results also indicated that the semi-IPN hydrogel had different swelling capacity at various pHs. Additionally, the swelling behavior of the hydrogel was investigated in aqueous solutions of NaCl, CaCl2, and AlCl3.

Keywords: chitosan; acrylic acid; crotonic acid; interpenetrating polymer networks; glutaraldehyde.