Electrical properties of nitrocellulose

It has been demonstrated experimentally on an industrial scale that nitrocellulose is readily charged with static electricity by friction, even by the air current during drying. Dry nitrocellulose charged with electricity may ignite on discharging. 

Lee and Sakurada [142] have examined the dielectric constant of nitrocellulose dissolved in acetone and in acetone-hexanone mixtures. They found that the dielectric constant was only very slightly dependent on the viscosity, and completely independent of the concentration. 

Among other electrical properties of nitrocellulose, attention should be paid to the experimental work on the electrical conductivity of solutions. Thus Dobry [143] found the conductivity of a nitrocellulose solution in acetone to be proportional to its concentration. Experiments on the electrophoresis of solutions made by Lantz and Pickett [144] demonstrated that the particles of nitrocellulose carry a negative charge. Electrolysis of the solution causes the nitrocellulose gel to collect at the anode. This gel may contain the metal of which the anode is constructed, as demonstrated byApard [145]. 

de Bruin, Communique Soc. Anon. Fabriques Nederland, d Explosifs, No. 1 Amsterdam, 1921. 

Trommel, Communication No. 15, N. V. Kon mklijke Nederlansche Springstoffenfabrieken, Amsterdam, 1959. 

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Optical properties of nitrocellulose Electrical properties of nitrocellulose lateraturc... 

Cellophane is used as a general protective wrapping material. Because of its good electrical properties, it is used in wire and cable construction and other electrical products. It also functions as a separator, barrier, or release film in plastic molding and lamination. To make it moisture proof, most of the cellophane film is coated with a lacquer composed of nitrocellulose, plasticizers, resins, and waxes. This coating can also give the cellophane film a heat-sealing property. 

GC material was widely modified with conducting (or nonconducting) polymers in order to obtain an improved surface for DNA adsorption and detection. The initial approaches were performed by the physical attachment of nylon or nitrocellulose membranes on GC electrodes [51]. As explained, these membranes were extensively used in classical DNA analysis due to their well-known adsorption properties [33]. Other approaches were performed by the direct adsorption of the polymeric film on the GC surface. Finally, polymeric films were electrochemically grown on the GC substrate. These conducting polymers are particularly promising for the adsorption, but also for inducing electrical signals obtained from DNA interactions. 

The last operation should be considered particularly dangerous because of the high potential of the electric charge which can be created under prolonged friction at an elevated temperature. According to the literature [60] celluloid (which possesses properties very similar to nitrocellulose powder) can be charged to 40,000 V by simple friction. 

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