Carbon‐13 NMR of hydroxyethylcellulose: An accurate method for structural determination

The high‐resolution carbon‐13 NMR spectrum of hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) with about 2.5 moles of ethylene oxide (MS 2.5) average substitution per anhydroglucose ring (AHG) is presented. From models, the CMR chemical shifts for all of the different carbon atoms are assigned. Direct measurement of the relative intensities of the CMR signals for certain carbon atoms in HEC permits rapid and accurate computation of (1) the average chain length of poly(ethylene oxide); (2) the degree of substitution of ethylene oxide, and (3) the average relative degree of substitution of the alcohol groups on the AHG ring.