Facile synthesis of cellulose derivatives based on cellulose acetoacetate

In the present work, cellulose acetoacetates (CAA) was used as a precursor for preparing diversely functionalized cellulose derivatives. Four amino-bearing compounds, namely hexylamine (HA), L-glutamic acid (Glu), cysteine (Cys), and tyramine (TA) were reacted with acetoacetyl groups providing alkyl-, carboxyl-, thiol-, or phenolic functionalized cellulose. The reaction was conducted under mild conditions without catalysts and UV light. The products were characterized with FT-IR, NMR and solubility measurement. H-1 NMR measurement demonstrated the conversion of acetoacetyl groups were ideal, and all the cellulose derivatives demonstrated good solubility in certain solvent. Besides, CAA held a good stability under room temperature. This approach offers broad possibilities for developing new cellulose based materials. Moreover, this protocol can also be applied to fabricate other polysaccharide derivatives. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.