Electron Diffraction Measurement of Degree of Crystallite Orientation in Native Cellulose Fibers

Electron diffraction techniques have been employed in the study of crystallite orientation within fibrils of cellulose removed from cotton and ramie fibers. It was found that the degree of orientation of crystallites within fibrils representing ten cotton varieties did not deviate appreciably from one another; however, the alpha angle determined for ramie was significantly lower than that determined for the cottons.