Readily hydrolysable cellulose esters as intermediates for the regioselective derivatization of cellulose; II. Soluble,highly substituted cellulose trifluoroacetates

Cellulose trifluoroacetate (CTFA) with DS values of 1.5 and 2.1 and DP values ranging from 170 to 800 have been prepared free from impurities of the reaction mixture (weakly bound trifluoroacetic acid) and of the procedure of isolation (diethyl ether). The CTFAs are soluble in DMSO, DMF, pyridine, and THF and thermostable up to 250 °C. A convenient synthetic method for CTFAs with DS 1.5 involves the acylation of cellulose with mixtures of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and trifluoroacetic anhydride (TFAA, 33% v/v) at room temperature for 4 h and subsequent treatment of the crude polymer at 150 °C and 80 Pa for 40 min. The preparation of CTFAs with DS-values up to 2.1 requires the addition of chloroform and 16 h reaction time.¹³ C-NMR studies as well as HPLC analyses after methylation and chain degradation show a preferred trifluoroacetylation of the primary hydroxy groups of the cellulose. The extent of depolymerization during the trifluoroacetylation was investigated for various cellulose materials. The cleavage of the trifluoroacetyl groups is possible by treating the derivative with a protic medium like water. Total hydrolysis of CTFA dissolved in DMF with water (room temperature) takes 6 min. The first paper on this topic was concerned with cellulose formates (Schnabelrauchet al., 1992).