Cellulose furoate. II. Characterization

The chemical structure of furoate moiety in cellulose furoate was confirmed by FTIR, UV spectroscopy, and NMR and X-ray spectroscopy. Thermal property was studied by TGA and DSC. TGA results showed cellulose furoate has a very similar thermal property to cellulose. Thermograms revealed its decomposition started at about 300 degreesC, and had a maximum rate of weight loss at about 360 degreesC. DSC studies revealed the glass transition temperatures for cellulose furoates ranged from 207 to 230 degreesC, depending upon the DS. Myrothecium verrucaria, Cheatomium globosum, and Aspergillus terreus were used to determine the biodegradability of cellulose furoate. Biodegradation tests showed that each glucose unit in cellulose required as least one substitution to significantly improve the antibiodegradation property. Solubility tests revealed that cellulose furoates with DS ranged from 1.09 and 2.66, prepared from the homogeneous system, are dissolvable in dioxane, DMSO, DMF, and DMAc. Specimens prepared from the heterogeneous system; only those with DS ranging from 1.09 and 1.98 are dissolvable in DMSO. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.