Structure Formation and Abnormalities of the Kinetics of Sorption of Water and Ethyl Alcohol by Cellulose Acetate and Cellulose Hydrate

Abstract

An investigation was made of the kinetics of sorption of water, ethyl alcohol, and their blends by cellulose hydrate and cellulose diacetate. It was shown that the systems are characterised by abnormally extreme kinetics of swelling, which is independent of the nature of the solvent. In this work, repeated, cyclic swelling–drying processes were carried out; it was established that the degree of swelling decreases with an increasing number of cycles. By means of IR spectroscopy and hydrostatic weighing in ethyl alcohol it was established that, during swelling, there is an increase in the density and degree of crystallinity of the polymer. That is, rearrangement of the structure of the polymer occurs, leading to complete ordering of the mutual disposition of the fragments of the macromolecular chains.