Journal of South China University of Technology (Natural Science Edition) ›› 2010, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (2): 23-27.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1000-565X.2010.02.005

• Chemistry & Chemical Engineering • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Solubility of Cellulose in ZnCl2 Aqueous Solution and Structure of Regenerated Cellulose

Xiong Jian1　Ye Jun 1,2　Zhao Xing-fei1,2   

  1. School of Light Industry and Food Sciences, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, Guangdong, China; 2. State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, Guangdong, China
  • Received:2009-04-10 Revised:2009-07-01 Online:2010-02-25 Published:2010-02-25
  • Contact: 叶君（1963-），女，教授，主要从事植物资源化学研究．E-mail：jye@scut．edu．cn E-mail:loxiong@scut．edu．cn
  • About author:熊犍（1965-），男，教授，主要从事天然高分子研究．
  • Supported by:

    国家“973”计划项目（2010CB732201）;国家自然科学基金资助项目（50573025）

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Abstract:

The paper deals with the dissolving ability of ZnCl2 aqueous solutions with various mass fractions for cellulose with different degrees of polymerization （DP）. It is found out that （ 1 ） ZnCl2 aqueous solutions cannot dissolve cellulose unless the salt mass fraction is higher than 65.0% ; （ 2 ） when ZnCl2 content is not less than 65.0% , the Zn 2＋ ions unsaturated by water molecules connect with the hydroxyl groups of cellulose, which makes the cellulose to dissolve; and （3） ZnCl2aqueous solution with a content of 65.0% is of the best dissolving ability for cellulose, and the ability decreases with the increase in DP. It is also indicated by WAXD results that the regenerated cellulose is the crystalline transformation of cellulose Ⅱ. Moreover, FT-IR results show that ZnCl2 aqueous solution is a direct solvent for cellulose, and that the intramolecular hydrogen bond of regenerated cellulose weakens after the dissolution.

Key words: cellulose, zinc chloride aqueous solution, dissolution, degree of polymerization, hydrogen bond, regenerated cellulose