Cellulose modification for sustainable polymers: overcoming problems of solubility and processing

Two new water-soluble cellulose derivatives were prepared by a two-step transformation with 1,3-propane sultone, followed by either maleic or succinic anhydride, thereby converting cellulose into a more easily processable form. It was found that the solubility was dependent on both the degree of substitution and the chemical properties of the substituents. The water-soluble cellulose has a molecular weight greater than 100 000 g mol⁻¹ and both the morphology and molecular weight can be tuned by varying the reaction conditions. Furthermore, the flexible, two-step nature of the process allows for expansion of this methodology in order to prepare cellulose analogues for different applications.