Radiation-induced conversions of cotton cellulose

Radiation-chemical processess involving cellulose are the subject of a considerable number of publications. However, this is still a subject of great interest both from the theoretical standpoint, e.g., for interpretation of solid-phase conversions and structure of cellulose, and for practical purposes, such as production of soluble degraded cellulose materials. The purpose of the present work was to study changes in the structure and degree of polymerization (DP/sub V/) of cotton cellulose after exposure to ionizing radiation. Comparison of such data would make it possible to deduce the role of the crystalline state in radiation-induced processes in cellulose