Untangling the threads of cellulose mercerization.
Journal
Nature communications
ISSN: 2041-1723
Titre abrégé: Nat Commun
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101528555
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
19 10 2022
19 10 2022
Historique:
received:
31
01
2022
accepted:
04
10
2022
entrez:
19
10
2022
pubmed:
20
10
2022
medline:
22
10
2022
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
Naturally occurring plant cellulose, our most abundant renewable resource, consists of fibers of long polymer chains that are tightly packed in parallel arrays in either of two crystal phases collectively referred to as cellulose I. During mercerization, a process that involves treatment with sodium hydroxide, cellulose goes through a conversion to another crystal form called cellulose II, within which every other chain has remarkably changed direction. We designed a neutron diffraction experiment with deuterium labelling in order to understand how this change of cellulose chain direction is possible. Here we show that during mercerization of bacterial cellulose, chains fold back on themselves in a zigzag pattern to form crystalline anti-parallel domains. This result provides a molecular level understanding of one of the most widely used industrial processes for improving cellulosic materials.
Identifiants
pubmed: 36261428
doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-33812-w
pii: 10.1038/s41467-022-33812-w
pmc: PMC9581993
doi:
Substances chimiques
Cellulose
9004-34-6
Sodium Hydroxide
55X04QC32I
Deuterium
AR09D82C7G
Types de publication
Journal Article
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
6189Informations de copyright
© 2022. Crown.
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