Carboxymethylation of Bacterial Cellulose

Abstract The carboxymethylation of bacterial cellulose (BC) was studied under typical heterogeneous reaction conditions. It was found that the BC possesses a significantly lower reactivity compared to wood cellulose converted under comparable conditions. Moreover, water‐solubility of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) obtained from BC appears at rather high degree of substitution of about 1.5 although a nearly statistical functionalization pattern was analyzed by HPLC. Obviously, the nano‐structure of BC is important for the reactivity and the properties of the synthesized CMC like water‐solubility.