Preparation and characterization of cellulose‐coated chitosan beads with improved strength and acid resistivity

A new chitosan bead was successfully prepared by simply dropping acidic chitosan solution into 0.5 wt % alkaline cellulose solution. The X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis and the scanning electron microscope observation indicate that thin layer of cellulose was coated on the chitosan bead to have strong interaction with inner chitosan. Therefore, the bead reveals porous microstructure of regenerate cellulose in the surface. Owing to the cellulose coating, the bead displays improved mechanical properties and acid resistance. The adsorption of Fe3+ onto the new chitosan beads was investigated in detail, and the results show that the cellulose coating has little influence on the adsorption of the chitosan. Therefore, this study provides a novel method to expand the application of chitosan by coating with an acid‐insensitive polymer.