WATER SORPTION AND STRUCTURAL DIFFERENCES IN CELLULOSIC MATERIALS,
Abstract
It was shown, by measurement of the isotherms of water adsorption on cellulose hydrate fibers and on the same fibers after conversion to alpha-cellulose by heating in glycerine at high temperatures, that the sorption of water on these fibers is identical, and is consequently independent of the chain structure. Treatment with liquids, causing swelling of the cellulose at high temperatures, decreases the sorption of water by any cellulosic material. Study under high vacuum of the mechanical properties of cellulose threads totally free of moisture has shown that in the absence of water cellulose is a vitreous material but with highly elastic properties. The entropy change in the sorption of water by cellulose indicates that this substance is a polymer with very stiff chains. It is suggested that cellulose is a material with a low density of packing, this being due to the stiffness of the cellulose chains and the difficulty of displacing them relatively to each other. This means a high degree of elasticity and a large sorption of water. Under any conditions which increase the flexibility and mobility of the cellulose chains, their packing becomes denser, and this in turn brings about a decrease in the water sorption.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 07, 1955
- Accession Number
- AD0682562
Entities
People
- Kh. U. Usmanov
- V. A. Kargin
Organizations
- United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories