A new anhydride/ammonia-cellulose reaction has been developed. It has led to a fast, simple, pad-hake process for modifying cellulose. The structure of the modified reaction product is presumed to be a cellulose half-acid ester.
The easily synthesized cellulose ester derivative may be of possible value as a precursor for subsequent reactions to obtain cellulose fabrics with improved properties. Cellulose hemisuccinate, phthalate, and maleate, are reported.
