Abstract
Here, a new solvent system for cellulose is reported. The solvent is a mixed aqueous solution of 1.0 wt.% poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and 9.0 wt.% of NaOH. Cellulose powder was added into the mixture at room temperature at first, and freezing it at −15 °C for 12 h following a thaw of the mixture at room temperature under strong stirring. There formed a clean solution of cellulose, and the optical microscopy was used to record the dissolving process. 13C-NMR, FT-IR, XRD, and intrinsic viscosity measurements revealed that there forms a homogeneous solution of cellulose in the new solvent system. The maximum solubility of cellulose with average molecular weight of 1.32 × 105 g mol−1 in the solvent system is 13 wt.%. The cellulose solution in the new solvent system is stable, even for 30 days storage at room temperature.
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Acknowledgement
This work is supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2007CB210201) and the National Key Technology R&D Program (No. 2006BAF02A09).
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Yan, L., Gao, Z. Dissolving of cellulose in PEG/NaOH aqueous solution. Cellulose 15, 789–796 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-008-9233-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-008-9233-5