On the orientation of the chains in the mercerized cellulose

The cold alkaline treatment or mercerization of cellulose is widely used in industry to enrich the cellulose raw with high-molecular-weight alpha-cellulose. Washing out of hemicelluloses by alkalies is accompanied by the rearrangement of the cellulose chains' packing, well known as a transition between cellulose I and cellulose II. Cellulose II can also be produced by the precipitation of the cellulose solutions (regeneration). The currently accepted theory implies that in cellulose II, both mercerized and regenerated, the macromolecules are arranged antiparallelly. However, forming such a structure in the course of the mercerization seems to be significantly hindered, while it seems to be quite possible in the regeneration process. In this work, we discuss the sticking points in the theory on the antiparallel structure of mercerized cellulose from a theoretical point of view summarizing all of the available experimental data in the field.

Automated summary

The article discusses the sticking points in the theory on the antiparallel structure of mercerized cellulose, summarizing all available experimental data in the field and finding that the formation of the structure in mercerized cellulose is significantly hindered during the mercerization process, while it is quite possible in the regeneration process.