The everyday objects that have become habitual for us, which are ubiquitous in our daily lives, could not have been imagined without the use of organic chemistry products. Long before the chemical experiments of Anselm Paya, as a result of which he was able to discover and describe in 1838 a polysaccharide that received its own name "cellulose" (a derivative of the French cellulose and Latin cellula, which means "cell, cell"), the property of this substance was actively used in production the most irreplaceable things.
The expansion of knowledge about cellulose has led to the appearance of a wide variety of things made on its basis. Various types of paper, cardboard, plastic and artificial fiber parts (acetate, viscose, copper-ammonia), polymer films, enamels and varnishes, detergents, food additives (E460) and even smokeless powder are products of cellulose production and processing.
In its pure form, cellulose is a white solid with fairly attractive properties, shows high resistance to various chemical and physical influences.
Nature chose cellulose (fiber) as its main building material. In the plant world, it forms the basis for the cell walls of trees and other higher plants. In its purest form in nature, cellulose is found in the hairs of cotton seeds.
The unique properties of this substance are determined by its original structure. The cellulose formula has the general notation (C6 H10 O5) n from which we see a pronounced polymer structure. Repeating a huge number of times, the β-glucose residue, which has a more detailed form as - [C6 H7 O2 (OH) 3] -, combines into a long linear molecule.
The molecular formula of cellulose determines its unique chemical properties to withstand the effects of aggressive environments. Also, cellulose has a high resistance to heat, even at 200 degrees Celsius the substance retains its structure and does not collapse. Self-ignition occurs at a temperature of 420 ° C.
Cellulose is no less attractive for its physical properties. The structural formula of cellulose in the form of long filaments containing from 300 to 10,000 glucose residues without side branches largely determines the high stability of this substance. The glucose formula shows how many hydrogen bonds give cellulose fibers not only greater mechanical strength, but also high elasticity. The result of the analytical processing of many chemical experiments and studies was the creation of a model of cellulose macromolecule. It is a rigid spiral with a step of 2-3 elementary units, which is stabilized by intramolecular hydrogen bonds.
Not the cellulose formula, but the degree of polymerization is the main characteristic for many substances. So, in raw cotton, the number of glucoside residues reaches 2500-3000, in purified cotton - from 900 to 1000, peeled wood pulp has an index of 800-1000, in regenerative cellulose their number is reduced to 200-400, and in industrial cellulose acetate it is from 150 up to 270 "links" in the molecule.
The product for the production of cellulose is plant material, mainly wood. The main production process involves the cooking of wood chips with various chemicals, followed by cleaning, drying and cutting of the finished product.
Subsequent processing of cellulose makes it possible to obtain many materials with predetermined physical and chemical properties that allow the production of a wide variety of products, without which the life of a modern person is difficult to imagine. The unique formula of cellulose, adjusted by chemical and physical processing, became the basis for the production of materials that have no analogues in nature, which allowed them to be widely used in the chemical industry, medicine and other sectors of human activity.