An experiment to refute the likelihood of cellulose carboxylation

Abstract

To test the hypothesis that cellulose in linen can be carboxylated at high temperatures in the presence of CO2, water and silver, we heated two aliquots of cellulose extracted from old wood in glass ampoules, adding Ag powder to one to test its potential action as a catalyst for the carboxylation reaction. AMS measurement of the heated aliquots showed no statistically significant difference in 14C content from the 'uncarboxylated' cellulose. We conclude that carboxylation is not a systematic source of error in the dating of cellulose-containing materials such as the linen in the Shroud of Turin.