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• Henniges, U
• Hasani, M
• Potthast, A
• Westman, G
• Rosenau, T
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• Henniges, U
• Hasani, M
• Potthast, A
• Westman, G
• Rosenau, T
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• Henniges, U
• Hasani, M
• Potthast, A
• Westman, G
• Rosenau, T

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Materials 2013, 6(5), 1584-1598; doi:10.3390/ma6051584

Article

Electron Beam Irradiation of Cellulosic Materials—Opportunities and Limitations

Ute Henniges ¹, Merima Hasani ², Antje Potthast ¹, Gunnar Westman ² and Thomas Rosenau ^1,*

¹ Department of Chemistry/Division of Chemistry of Renewables, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna A-1190, Austria ² Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering/Organic Chemistry, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg SE-412 96, Sweden

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 11 March 2013; in revised form: 8 April 2013 / Accepted: 17 April 2013 / Published: 29 April 2013

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Cellulosic Materials)

Download PDF Full-Text [150 KB, uploaded 29 April 2013 11:35 CEST]

Abstract: The irradiation of pulp is of interest from different perspectives. Mainly it is required when a modification of cellulose is needed. Irradiation could bring many advantages, such as chemical savings and, therefore, cost savings and a reduction in environmental pollutants. In this account, pulp and dissociated celluloses were analyzed before and after irradiation by electron beaming. The focus of the analysis was the oxidation of hydroxyl groups to carbonyl and carboxyl groups in pulp and the degradation of cellulose causing a decrease in molar mass. For that purpose, the samples were labeled with a selective fluorescence marker and analyzed by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) coupled with multi-angle laser light scattering (MALLS), refractive index (RI), and fluorescence detectors. Degradation of the analyzed substrates was the predominant result of the irradiation; however, in the microcrystalline samples, oxidized cellulose functionalities were introduced along the cellulose chain, making this substrate suitable for further chemical modification.

Keywords: carbonyl groups; carboxyl groups; crystalline cellulose; degradation; fibrillated cellulose; molar mass

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