COMPLEXES OF CELLULOSE WITH POLYAMINES

The diethylenetriamine (DETA)-cellulose complex was first reported by Segal and Loeb. They concluded that DETA and cellulose form a stable complex with d(101) of 11. 54 A, and that the triamine molecule separates two cellulose chains and crosslinks them through the secondary group and one primary amino group of the triamine. Later, Segal revised this conclusion and proposed a folding arrangement of the triamine molecule in the complex, with the triamine bonded to the cellulose by a primary amino group, without bonding at the secondary amino group, and with the triamine molecule extended parallel to the cellulose chain axes, in the 101 interplanar space. Other researchers verified the existence of the two forms of the DETA-cellulose complex previously reported, and concluded that bonding in the contracted form is through the primary and secondary amino groups as originally proposed by Segal and Loeb. Several new polyamine-cellulose complexes are reported in this study to further evaluate the effect of polyamines upon cellulose. Experimental data are presented which show that the distension of the 101 interplanar space is proportional to the number of atoms involved in crosslinking. The data also confirms the previous observation that crosslinking of polyamine-cellulose complexes in the contracted form is through a primary and secondary amine group.