Synthesis of Several Sugar Acetates and their Structures Characterization
Several acetate esters were synthesized by reacting sugars, i.e. glucose, soluble starch, and dextrin, with acetic anhydride in the presence of some catalysts. Their structures were confirmed by IR and MS. Influences of the reaction conditions, such as catalyst and its dosage, reaction time, reaction temperature and acetic anhydride content, on the value of degree of substitution (DS) and the yield for starch acetates had also been investigated. Results showed that glucose could be easily completely acetylated; acidic catalyst tended to form a configuration of α-glucose penta-acetate (α-GPA), while alkaline catalyst β-GPA. However, soluble starch and dextrin were more difficult to be completely substituted by acetic anhydride. The DS value of soluble starch was below 2; for dextrin, its DS value could reach 2.3, close to the theoretical value of 3. An appropriate reaction temperature and reaction time were important for high yield as well as high DS value.