ALCOHOLYSIS OF CELLULOSE

The alcoholysis of cellulose in solutions of sulfuric acid in ethanol and n‐butanol is described; emphasis is placed on the reactions of a cellulose that is 97% disordered, as measured by an infrared‐deuteration technique, but the reactions of several partially ordered celluloses are also investigated. Alcoholysis produces only very slight increases in hydrogen‐bond order, and the rate of reaction is roughly related to the degree of hydrogen‐bond disorder in the starting material. The reactivity of the 97% disordered cellulose is dependent upon the method of freeing the film from the non‐aqueous media used in its preparation. This variable reactivity is not associated with differences in hydrogen‐bond order or in the surface area of internal voids, capillaries, etc., as measured by nitrogen sorption and a nonswelling oxidation technique, but could be due to the existence of a very fine pore structure in some of the films. Copyright © 1968 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.