Abstract: Chitin is dissolved directly in 8%NaOH/4%urea aqueous solution at low temperature.Acrylamide modified chitin (AMC) was synthesized using acrylamide as etherifying agent.The products were characterized by ¹H NMR and FT-IR.The viscosity behavior of diluted solution was studied.AMC/chitosan blend membranes were prepared by a phase inversion methods.The mechanical properties,water absorption,transmittance and antibacterial action of the membranes were investigated respectively.The results showed that AMC was successfully prepared in NaOH/urea aqueous solution,and the substitution degree (DS) was 0.49.The AMC diluted solution showed typical polyelectrolyte behavior.Two polymers including AMC and chitosan had good compatibility. The tensile strength and water resistance of the membranes were improved significantly with the addition of AMC,and all of the blend membranes had significant antibacterial activity.

Key words: chitin, acrylamide, homogeneous reaction, blend membranes