Selective Accessibilities of Hydroxyl Groups in the Microstructure of Cotton Cellulose

The reactions of 2-chloroethyldiethylamine with the hydroxyl groups at C-2, C-3, and C-6 of the d-glucopyranosyl unit of cotton cellulose were investigated as a means of evaluating the relative accessibilities of these hydroxyl groups in heterogeneous reactions of fibrous cellulose. The relative rate constants for reactions of the individual types of hydroxyl groups were determined from reactions of cellulose in solution and from reactions of disordered cellulose in heterogeneous systems. Quantitative determinations of the distributions of 2-(diethylamino)ethyl substituents in the mono-substituted d-glucopyranosyl units involved hydrolysis of the chemically modified cellulose to glucose and substituted glucoses followed by gas-liquid chromatographic analysis. The relative accessibilities of the hydroxyl groups at C-2 and C-3 vs those at C-6 were estimated for crystalline celluloses by employing the relative rate constants (noted above) together with the experimentally measured distributions of substituents resulting from heterogeneous reactions of crystalline celluloses and appropriate kinetic expressions. The relative accessibilities of the hydroxyl groups at C-2, C-3, and C-6 in cellulose in strong mercerizing media approach those of cellulose in solution. In media of lower concentration of sodium hydroxide (i.e., 4 N or 13.9%), selective accessibilities of the individual types of hydroxyl groups become evident, and these selective accessibilities become pronounced in sodium hydroxide solutions of still lower concentrations (e.g., N and 2 N).