Cyanoethylation of hydroxyethyl cellulose: Preparation and characterization

Abstract

Commercial hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) was cyanoethylated with acrylonitrile in nonaqueous medium in the presence of sodium hydroxide under a variety of conditions. Variablesstudied included the amount of acrylonitrile and the reaction temperature. The reaction was proved by NMR and its extent was measured by determining the nitrogen content. The physical properties of the obtained derivatives—i.e., the electric properties and the apparentviscosity at various rates of shear—were investigated. It was found that the extent of reaction was increased by increasing the amount of acrylonitrile as well as the reaction temperature. The products were water soluble and their apparent viscosity increased with increasing nitrogen content. The same holds true for the dielectric constant and dielectric loss. © 1992, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.