INTERPRETATION OF THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF CELLULOSE FROM THE ESR SPECTRUM OF A GAMMA-IRRADIATED PREPARATION

A method is proposed for determining the crystallinity index of cellulose by an ESR method the principle of which is based on the identification in the recorded spectrum of a signal from radicals of the alkoxyl type stabilized in crystalline sections of the preparation. The radicals are generated by irradiating the cellulose with γ-radiation in vacuum with a dose of 10–100 kGr. The crystallinity index of the cellulose is calculated from the equation CI=I1/I2−1.