Availability of surface hydroxyl groups in valonia and bacterial cellulose

The chemical microstructural analysis (CMA) developed by Rowland and his school was applied to Valonia and bacterial cellulose and the results compared to those obtained with cellulose from cotton linters. It was found that the surface reactivity of Valonia was very small, roughly one half of that found for bacterial and cotton cellulose. Valonia and bacterial cellulose crystals were found to be of high surface perfection as their surface O(3)H was almost inaccessible. In contrast, in the cotton sample, this hydroxyl group was almost as accessible as in the fully disorganized native cellulose.