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Dissolution of rayon fibers for size exclusion chromatography: a challenge

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Abstract

Application of size exclusion chromatography (SEC) for the analysis of cellulose samples is often limited due to poor solubility in the solvent system N,N-dimethylacetamide/lithium chloride (DMAc/LiCl). Hence different activation or derivatization methods have been developed and published. Most of these methods are laborious, influence the molar mass distribution or do not support dissolution of manmade fibers, such as viscose rayon. In this study, we have evaluated different activation methods for their applicability in viscose rayon dissolution and we present a novel method for activation. We found that an additional solvent exchange step with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) increases and accelerates solubility of viscose fibers in DMAc/LiCl for subsequent SEC analysis. The improved dissolution by DMSO activation is mainly due to increased swelling and improved action towards the outer skin of the fiber. The novel approach has also been applied to the even more difficult dissolution of oxidized viscose fibers.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the Austrian research funding association (FFG) through the COMET programs “Process Analytical Chemistry (PAC)” and “Wood K plus” with its industrial partner “Kelheim Fibres GmbH”. In addition we would like to thank Department of Nanobiotechnology for access to SEM equipment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Division of Chemistry of Renewable Resources, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, UFT Campus Tulln, Konrad-Lorenz-Straße 24, 3430, Tulln, Austria

    Martin Siller, Kyujin Ahn, Nicole Pircher, Thomas Rosenau & Antje Potthast

  2. Kompetenzzentrum Holz GmbH, Altenberger Straße 69, 4040, Linz, Austria

    Martin Siller

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  1. Martin Siller
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  2. Kyujin Ahn
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  3. Nicole Pircher
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  4. Thomas Rosenau
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  5. Antje Potthast
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Correspondence to Antje Potthast.

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Siller, M., Ahn, K., Pircher, N. et al. Dissolution of rayon fibers for size exclusion chromatography: a challenge. Cellulose 21, 3291–3301 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-014-0356-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-014-0356-6

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