STUDIES ON THE ISOLATION, STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES OF ACETYLATED CELLULOSEFROM SAND BOX TREE (Huracrepitans).

Acetylation is one of the most significant reactions for the derivatization of cellulose and numerous works related to cellulose acetate have been reported in the literature. Information about the structural and spectroscopic properties with respect to the degree of derivatization of cellulose acetate is lacking. Cellulose was isolated from Huracrepitans (sand box tree) and chemically modified using acetic anhydride. The acetylation process of the cellulose has been investigated by means of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction techniques. Proximate analysis showed that the cellulose has low moisture content and have long shelf life. Acetylation was carried out at various temperatures, pH range, time range and concentration. The FTIR spectrograms showed new bands at 1730cm-1 which is responsible for acetyl group, X-ray pattern of native cellulose showed low intensity compared to acetylated cellulose showing high crystallinity in the acetylated cellulose. The thermal analyses (TGA and DTA) showed that the native cellulose was more thermally stable than the acetylated cellulose.