Chain conformation cellulose

Fig. 1. A segment of a cellulose chain composed of four P-D-glucopyianose residues (ceUotetiaose), showing (a) the chemical bonds and election clouds around the atoms. The molecule has the twofold hehcal conformation typical of many models of crystalline cellulose, (b) The (Haworth) stmctural formula...

Fig. 2 Schematic representation of cellulose structures in solution Part A shows the fringed micellar structure. Parts B and C show possible chain conformations of celluloses of different DP. For high molecular weight cellulose, C, intra-molecular hydrogen bonding is possible...

As the chain modulus of a polymer cannot be altered in a spinning process, a larger fibre modulus can only be obtained by improving the orientation of the chains and by an increase of the shear modulus g. However, there is one exception. After dissolving native cellulose fibres with the cellulose I conformation and a chain modulus of 138 GPa into a solution, the regenerated fibres obtained by spinning of this solution and subsequent coagulation always have the cellulose II chain conformation with a chain modulus of 88 GPa [26]. 

Figure 7. A "snapshot" of a typical cellulosic chain trajectory taken from a Monte Carlo sample of cellulosic chains, all based on die conformational energy map of Fig. 6. Filled circles representing glycosidic oxygens, linked by virtud bonds spanning the sugar residues (not shown), allow one to trace the instantaneous chain trajectory in a coordinate system that is rigidly fixed to the residue at one end of the chain. Projections of the chain into three mutually orthogonal planes assist in visualization of the trajectory in three dimensions.

Figure 3. Isolated chain conformations of cellulose predicted by MM2(85) (left) and PS79 (middle). The conformation on the right is that of the crystal structure of cellulose I (3). Hydrogen bonds are shown by dashed lines.

The most relevant property of stereoregular polymers is their ability to crystallize. This fact became evident through the work of Natta and his school, as the result of the simultaneous development of new synthetic methods and of extensive stractural investigations. Previously, the presence of crystalline order had been ascertained only in a few natural polymers (cellulose, natural rubber, bal-ata, etc.) and in synthetic polymers devoid of stereogenic centers (polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyamids, polyesters, etc.). After the pioneering work of Meyer and Mark (70), important theoretical and experimental contributions to the study of crystalline polymers were made by Bunn (159-161), who predicted the most probable chain conformation of linear polymers and determined the crystalline structure of several macromolecular compounds. 

Chauve et al. [253] utilized the same technique to examine the reinforcing effects of cellulose whiskers in EVA copolymer nanocomposites. It was shown that larger energy is needed to separate polar EVA copolymers from cellulose than for the nonpolar ethylene homopolymer. The elastomeric properties in the presence of spherical nanoparticles were studied by Sen et al. [254] utilizing Monte Carlo simulations on polypropylene matrix. They found that the presence of the nanofillers, due to their effect on chain conformation, significantly affected the elastomeric properties of nanocomposites. 

Changes in the conformation of the different forms of cellulose have been investigated157,158,195,196 by use of Raman spectroscopy. Celluloses I and II were found157 to have different, and distinct, molecular-chain conformations. No assignments of the frequencies were proposed, but the correlation between the spectra and the structure of celluloses was discussed. The major differences in the Raman spectra were observed below 800 cm-1, in the... 

The primary sources of information concerning the molecular structure of cellulose have been x-ray and electron diffractometric studies, conformational analyses, and vibrational spectroscopy. The work up to 1971 was very ably reviewed by Jones (10), and by T0nnesen and Ellefsen (II, 12). They generally concluded that although much evidence can be interpreted in terms of cellulose chains possessing a two-fold axis of symmetry, in both Celluloses I and II, none of the structures proposed... 

Rather recently, we have studied the solid-state structure of various polymers, such as polyethylene crystallized under different conditions [17-21], poly (tetramethylene oxide) [22], polyvinyl alcohol [23], isotactic and syndiotactic polypropylene [24,25],cellulose [26-30],and amylose [31] with solid-state high-resolution X3C NMR with supplementary use of other methods, such as X-ray diffraction and IR spectroscopy. Through these studies, the high resolution solid-state X3C NMR has proved very powerful for elucidating the solid-state structure of polymers in order of molecules, that is, in terms of molecular chain conformation and dynamics, not only on the crystalline component but also on the noncrystalline components via the chemical shift and magnetic relaxation. In this chapter we will review briefly these studies, focusing particular attention on the molecular chain conformation and dynamics in the crystalline-amorphous interfacial region. 

Both in theory and in practice there exist eight gluco-pyranose homopolymers, and some of the molecular conformations of three of these, i.e. cellulose and amylose (l.,2., 3,4), and (1+3)-8-D-glucan (5.,6.,.7) have been established by x-ray analysis. Although (1+3)-a-D-glucan is among the five homopolymers previously unsolved by x-ray diffraction, possible chain conformations were predicted with computers to be an extended ribbon (8.,9.) a single helix (9.), or a double or triple helix (10). 

Both bacterial and native plant cellulose (so called cellulose I) coexist in two crystal modifications a (triclinic) and p (monoclinic). The difference consists in the H-bonding systems and in the conformation of neighboring cellulose chains. The la/lp ratio depends on the origin of the cellulose [13]. 

Finally it may be remarked that the dynamic viscoelastic properties of plasticized cellulose derivatives seem to give no evidence of any unusual temperature dependence of the chain conformations. Thus, Landel and Ferry (162, 163, 164) successfully applied the method of reduced variables [see, for example, Ferry (6)] to various concentrated solutions of cellulosic polymers, and found that the temperature reduction factors were quite similar to those for other flexible polymers such as poly(isobutylene). 

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