Interrelation between the crystallinity of polysaccharides and water absorption

Abstract

The maximum sorption of water and its vapors is calculated using experimental data from calorimetric and effusion studies of flax, wood, and cotton cellulose. X-day diffraction is used to determine the crystallinity of cellulose samples. The equations relating crystallinity ( X ) with maximum sorption and the enthalpy of interaction between cellulose and water are presented. Experimental results and the literature data on water sorption by chitin, chitosan and other polysaccharides show that our equations for calculating crystallinity are correct.