In acid degradation, the rates of attack on amorphous and crystalline regions in cellulose are different, and main chain fractures are restricted almost to amorphous region up to certain stage of degradation. On the other hand, when degradation is due to high-energy radiation, for example γ-ray, no such difference occurs, crystalline and amorphous regions being equally liable to main chain fracture.
Regenerated cellulose fibers (viscose tire yarn) are hydrolysed by 1N hydrochloric acid at 50±1°C and γ-irradiated in the field of 5.9×10
4r/hr by Co
60 as the radiation source. Comparison of the tensile strength of these samples makes it possible to clarify the effect of amorphous and crystalline region on tensile strength of fibrous materials. Two samples acid hydrolyzed and γ irradiated having the same degree of polymerization, crystallinity, crystallite size and orientation, show different tensile strength both in conditioned and wet state, and the same tensile strength in 2% NaOH aqueous solution which acts as an intra-micellar swelling agent on cellulose. The results indicate that tensile strength is determined by the number of molecular chain ends in amorphous region only and not by that in crystalline region, provided that other factors are the same.
In addition, tensile strength measurements are made with samples which are transformed from cellulose II to cellulose IV crystalline modification by heat treatment in pure glycerol. No difference in tensile strength is found between cellulose II and cellulose IV fibers having same number of molecular chain ends in amorphous region.
Several other aspects are discussed.
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