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Role of urea in alkaline dissolution of cellulose

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Abstract

To elucidate the role of urea in dissolution of cellulose in aqueous alkali-urea solvent, the dissolution process was monitored by differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffractometry. Urea had no direct interaction with cellulose in dissolution process, but promoted the decrease of crystallinity. Moreover, the addition of urea increased the dissolved fraction of cellulose in the solvent by 1.5–2.5 times and improved the thermal stability of the solution. Urea might help alkali hydrate to penetrate into crystalline region of cellulose by stabilizing the alkali-swollen cellulose molecules, leading to an increase in dissolved fraction of cellulose. This stabilization may be due to the local accumulation of urea on the hydrophobic surface, preventing the hydrophobic association of dissolved cellulose molecules.

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Acknowledgments

This study was partly supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (No. 23580226) and a Grant-in-Aid for JSPS fellows (No. 24-7759). N.I. acknowledges financial support from JSPS Research Fellowship for Young Scientists.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomaterials Science, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Yayoi 1-1-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan

    Noriyuki Isobe, Satoshi Kimura, Masahisa Wada & Shigenori Kuga

  2. Department of Plant and Environmental New Resources, College of Life Sciences, Kyung Hee University, 1 Seocheon-dong, Giheung-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, 446-701, Republic of Korea

    Satoshi Kimura & Masahisa Wada

  3. Institute of Symbiotic Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Koganei, Tokyo, 184-8588, Japan

    Keiichi Noguchi

  4. Centre de Recherches sur les Macromolecules Vegetales (Affiliated with Joseph Fourier University of Grenoble), CNRS, B.P. 53, 38401, Grenoble Cedex 9, France

    Yoshiharu Nishiyama

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  1. Noriyuki Isobe
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  2. Keiichi Noguchi
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  3. Yoshiharu Nishiyama
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  4. Satoshi Kimura
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  5. Masahisa Wada
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  6. Shigenori Kuga
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Correspondence to Noriyuki Isobe.

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Isobe, N., Noguchi, K., Nishiyama, Y. et al. Role of urea in alkaline dissolution of cellulose. Cellulose 20, 97–103 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-012-9800-7

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