Obtaining a new carboxylated derivative of microcrystalline cellulose: An easy and solvent-free synthesis

Abstract

A solvent-free method for the one-step preparation of a new carboxylated-microcrystalline cellulose (MCCM) derivative is described in the present study. The method uses as esterification agent the 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxane-4,6-dione (Meldrum's acid) and produced a novel material with high degree of functionalization. Optimized synthesis conditions yielded a MCCM with a weight gain of 79.9% and 4.21 mmol/g of carboxylic acid functions after 4 h of reaction using a microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) to Meldrum's acid (MA) ratio of 1:6. MCCM was characterized with success by FTIR, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).