Electrosurface Properties of Microcrystalline Cellulose of Different Origin in 1 : 1 Electrolyte Solutions

Electrosurface characteristics (the exchange capacity and the electrokinetic potential) of the samples of cotton and wood microcrystalline celluloses (MCC) were studied as functions of the pH and the concentration of background electrolyte (10^–3–1M NaCl). It was found that the MCC samples are negatively charged over the studied pH range (3.5–10.0). The results of measuring exchange capacities were used for calculating constants of surface reactions. The values of dissociation constants of the surface groups allow us to state that the charge of the MCC surface within the studied pH range is mainly determined by the dissociation of carboxyl groups. The surface and electrokinetically mobile charges, concentrations of fixed and mobile ions, as well as Donnan's potentials were calculated for the studied samples.