Linters cellulose was acetylated to obtain cellulose acetates with different degrees of substitution (DS) in homogeneous medium, using lithium chloride/N,N-dimethylacetamide (LiCl/DMAc) as solvent system, and acetic anhydride as acetylating agent. The aggregation among chains of cellulose or cellulose acetates (DS 0.8, 1.5 and 2.0) in solution was studied through viscometric measurements. The results showed that aggregation in LiCl/DMAc is different for cellulose and acetates, and depends on the temperature and DS in the case of acetates. This study corresponds to the first step of a project, which aims at to prepare cellulose acetates films, as well as acetates films reinforced with cellulose, by casting directly from these solutions in LiCl/DMAc. The results presented here allow for an optimized choice of concentration range for preparing films from LiCl/DMAc solutions of acetates and cellulose.
Linters cellulose; cellulose acetate; solvent system LiCl; aggregation
