Effect of hydrogen bonds on the axial stiffnes of crystalline native cellulose

Previous theoretical calculations of elastic constants for cellulose based on force constants for bond stretching and bending of valence angles have yielded axial stiffness values admittedly too low. The present analysis accounts for a hitherto unexamined geometrical effect associated with deformation of interchain hydrogen bonds. To do this, most primary bond deformations are neglected so the resulting calculation gives an upper bound for the axial stiffness. By using two different sets of hydrogen bond force constants, values of 24.6 and 31.9 × 1011 dyne/cm2 were obtained for Young's modulus in the chain direction. These values are very much larger than earlier calculations and experimental determinations from cellulosic fibers, indicating both the importance of the effect considered here and the likelihood of an exact analysis yielding an acceptable result.