Synthesis and characterization of methylcellulose/PVA based porous composite

The synthesis of methylcellulose (MC) from chemically purified cellulose extracted from sugarcane bagasse was carried out with dimethyl sulfate (DMS) in the presence of sodium hydroxide and acetone as solvent under heterogeneous conditions and the degree of substitution (DS) was determined as 1.44. 3D porous composite of methylcellulose/polyvinyl alcohol (MC/PVA) was prepared by freeze drying process. The synthesized products were characterized by FE-SEM. FTIR, H-1 NMR and XRD. Porosity was calculated as 86% and the binary image, histogram of pores distribution of MC/PVA porous composite were investigated by ImageJ processing technique which shows the roughness of the topographical structure. Synthesized methylcellulose enhances the value to this abundant agro-industrial residue and may extend its range of biomedical applications. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.