Preparation and characterization of cellulose acetate from cotton

Abstract

The preparation and characterization of cellulose acetate from cotton was conducted in this study. Cotton was hydrolyzed using various concentrations of sulfuric acid (10, 20, 30 and 40%). The bleaching process was performed by using H₂O₂ solution. The acetylation process was conducted using acetic acid solution. The obtained cellulose acetate was then characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) in order to observe the functional groups, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to examine the surface morphology and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) to observe the crystallinity of cellulose acetate. The results of FTIR analysis confirmed the formation of cellulose acetate. SEM images showed the irregular sizes of cellulose acetate. XRD patterns exhibited that the acetylation process increased the crystallinity of cellulose.