Summary
Relative proportions of cellulose in the Iα and Iβ molecular packing forms were estimated through a relationship between molecular packing and the center of gravity of a 13C NMR signal assigned to C-4 of cellulose. An alternative method, based on generation of linear combinations of spectra of 2 samples of wood, was too time-consuming for routine use but provided data for calibration purposes. NMR spectra of algal, tunicate, bacterial and commercial fibrous-powder cellulose were also used for calibration purposes. Mass fractions of the Iα form were estimated as 0.51 for Pinus radiata wood and 0.25 for Castanea sativa wood. The difference is too small to have an important effect on moduli of elasticity.
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