Dielectric studies of cellulose and its derivatives: 1. Acetylation of cellulose

Dielectric conductivity (dc) and water absorption measurements are reported on a series of cellulose linter samples acetylated to varying degrees. The data illustrates the effects of the original structure of the cellulose linters both on the ease of acetylation and also on the subsequent dynamic characteristics of the polymer. It is only in the most forcing conditions that the primary fibrillar structure is destroyed. A change in properties is observed to occur at 40% acetylation of the hydroxyl groups, this coincides with the concentration of accessible groups as determined by deuterium exchange. A correlation is observed between the absorption and electrical observations on these systems.