The Preparation and Properties of Cellulose/Chitin Blend Filaments

The focus of this article is the preparation and characterization of cellulose/chitin blend filaments obtained from cellulose/chitin xanthate blend solution over the experimental blend ratio, i.e., 2.89% and 6.46%, (w/w) chitin content. The addition of chitin xanthate into cellulose xanthate leads to an increase of intermittence rate and the blend Solution has good filtering property. Scanning electronic microscope photos shows that there exist grooves on the filaments surface, which are becoming coarse with increasing chitin content. The mechanical properties of the Spun blend filaments is much higher than that of Crabyon (R) fiber, which proves that the viscose method we adopt here is in efficient way to prepare cellulose/chitin blend filaments with satisfactory mechanical properties and processing property. Based on the data from X-ray, sonic velocity, equilibrium regain rate, and accessibility, it is Concluded that the degree of crystallinity, modulus, degree of orientation, density, equilibrium regain rate, and accessibility of blend filaments decreases with increasing chitin content in the blend filaments in the experiment scope. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 113: 2777-2784, 2009