Abstract
Regenerated cellulose/chitin blend films (RCCH) were satisfactorily prepared in 6 wt % NaOH/4 wt % urea aqueous solution by coagulating with 5 wt % CaCl~2~ aqueous solution then treating with 1 wt % HCl. The structure, miscibility, and mechanical properties of the RCCH films were investigated by infrared, scanning electron microscopy, ultraviolet spectroscopies, Xβray diffraction, tensile test, and differential scanning analysis. The results indicated that the blends were miscible when the content of chitin was lower than 40 wt %. Moreover, the RCCH blend film achieved the maximum tensile strength in both dry and wet states of 89.1 and 43.7 MPa, respectively, indicating that the tensile strength and water resistivity of the RCCH film containing 10β20 wt % chitin was slightly higher than that of the RC film unblended with chitin. Structural analysis indicated that strong interaction occurred between cellulose and chitin molecules caused by intermolecular hydrogen bonding. Compared to the mechanical properties of chitin film, those of the blend films containing 10β50 wt % chitin were significantly improved. This work provided a novel way to obtain directly chitin material blended in the aqueous solution. Β© 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 1679β1683, 2002