Optically clear films of chitin/poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) blends were prepared over a wide composition range from mixed polymer solutions in formic acid/dichrolomethane by solvent evaporation. Glass transition temperature (Tg) of chitin/PVP blends was observed at a temperature higher than that of PVP homopolymer by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Tg increased with increasing PVP content in a systematic manner. This suggested that the polymer pair forms a miscible phase in the binary blend films. FT-IR spectra indicated the presence of an intermolecular interaction between the two constituent polymers. At the same time, the chitin component was found to be partly esterified by formic acid in the dissolution process.
