Plasticization of cellulose and its derivatives

The relaxation transitions in binary blends of cotton cellulose nitrate with castor oil and of chitosan and wood cellulose with betulin were studied by low-temperature adiabatic calorimetry in the range 80–320 K and by differential thermal analysis in the range 80–620 K. The solubility of these “structural” plasticizers in the above polysaccharides was determined. The phase diagrams of the polymer-plasticizer systems were constructed and analyzed.