HETEROGENEOUS CHLORINATION OF CELLULOSE IN N, N-DIMETHYLFORMAMIDE

Hardwood dissolving sulphate pulp was chlorinated with methanesulphonyl chloride /and thionyl chloride in N, N-dimethylformamide under the heterogeneous conditions. The following results were obtained: (1) Chlorination with methanesulphonyl chloride occurred only at C6 of a glucose residue to a small extent. (2) Chlorination with thionyl chloride occurred at the secondary carbon atom, in addition to the chlorination at C6, to yield 3, 6-dichloro-3, 6-dideoxy-D-allose residue and a trace of 4, 6-dichloro-4, 6-dideoxy-D-galactose residue. (3) Reaction of cellulose with thionyl chloride generated a lot of sulphur as a by-product and caused severe depolymerization. The calculated values of chlorine content were lower than theoretical ones expected from gas-liquid chromatographic analysis because of sulphur contaminant.