Effect of high-energy radiation and alkali treatment on the properties of cellulose

The effect of the treatment with NaOH or tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide solutions on preirradiated cotton-cellulose was investigated. Both the radiation and the treatment with alkali solutions caused loss of weight in cellulose; however, there was a synergism, a high weight loss was observed during alkali treatment of preirradiated samples. The radiation caused scissions of the cellulose chains and during the treatment with aqueous alkaline solutions some smaller fragments dissolved, resulting in a strong absorbance of the solutions with maximum at around 268 nm. It was attributed to the absorbance of aldehyde/keto groups. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.