Single crystals of cellulose IVII: Preparation and properties

Abstract Lamellar single crystals of cellulose were obtained from dilute solutions of low‐DP cellulose triacetate, by deacetylation followed by precipitation. At temperatures between 150 and 160°C, pure cellulose IVII crystals were obtained whereas at temperatures between 90 and 150°C, hybrid crystals, having cellulose II and cellulose IVII domains cocrystallized in syntaxy were obtained. In both cases, the crystals were identified and characterized by electron diffraction. When the solutions leading to cellulose IVII were seeded with native cellulose microfibrils, a shish‐kebab structure resulted with the microfibrils decorated by cellulose II lamellae.