MELTING TEMPERATURE OF THERMALLY REVERSIBLE GEL .5. HEAT OF FUSION OF CELLULOSE TRIACETATE AND THE MELTING OF CELLULOSE DIACETATE-BENZYL ALCOHOL GEL

The heat of fusion of cellulose triacetate was determined from the melting point depression to be 2360 cal mol-1 (9.87 kJ mol-1). The melting temperatures of thermally reversible gels of cellulose acetate in benzyl alcohol were measured over a range of polymer concentrations. The reciprocal of the gel melting temperature vs. In v2xw plot is linear, where v is the polymer volume fraction in the gel and xW is the weight-average degree of polymerization. The plot was analysed according to the thermodynamic theory of the melting of a gel and the crosslinking loci in the gel were inferred to be crystallites consist of triacetyl glucose units. © 1979, The Society of Polymer Science, Japan. All rights reserved.