Thermal Degradation of Cellulose and Cellulosic Substrates

Keywords Cotton, cellulose, pyrolysis, thermal degradation, thermogravimetry, 

Cellulose is one of the most abundant polysaccharides in nature and commonly used for different uses, as it represents the main component of both cotton and paper [1]. More specifically, the most important applications refer to fabrics (e.g. garments, upholstery, bed lines) or insulation systems in electrical transformers (Kraft paper is a well-known representative example). For this reason, its thermal degradation mechanism has been the main focus of several scientific studies, also aimed to find potential strategies to avoid it. 

Atul Tiwari and Baldev Raj, Reactions and Mechanisms in Thermal Analysis of Advanced Materials, (301-332) 

The present chapter focuses on the study of cellulose thermal degradation and of the involved reaction mechanisms, taking into accoimt all the parameters that may significantly affect it (such as heating rate, presence of humidity and metals). In this scenario, an extensive part will be specifically devoted to investigate the effect of different FRs currently used for improving cotton FR properties. 

Generally speaking, fibres with LOI 21.0% (the natural oxygen content in air) are very flammable they turn to be moderately flammable when LOI is within 21.0 and 25.0% and show a limited flammability when LOI is beyond 25.0%, so that they start to pass various national and international standard tests adopted for FR textiles [4]. 

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It was reported that the oxidative thermal degradation of the grafted fiber depended on the amount of grafted polymer and on the structure of the cellulose substrate (cotton cellulose, rayon, etc.). 

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