Cotton fibers, elongated epidermal cells of a cotton seed with well-developed secondary cell wall, go through five major overlapping development phases from fiber initiation to maturity. There is a continuous change in cell wall composition and organization throughout the development of cotton fibers, leading to cellulose macromolecules formation and deposition. The molecular weight and molecular weight distribution of cellulose as well as the organization of cellulose chains within the secondary cell wall are linked to the fiber strength. Those parameters could vary between cultivars and different stages of fiber development. Mature cotton fibers with more than 80% of crystallinity are difficult to dissolve in most of the common solvent systems. In this study, cotton fibers were subjected to a pre-activation step using 23% NaOH before dissolution in DMAc/ LiCl solvent system.  Fibers were harvested from two cotton cultivars of <i>Gossypium hirsutum L</i>., (Texas Marker-I and TX 55) during different phases of fiber development.  The results of the characterization of these fibers using Gel Permeation Chromatography, FTIR microspectroscopy imaging, and X-Ray diffraction will be discussed.

On the combination of NaOH activation and DMAc/ LiCl dissolution of cellulose from cotton fibers during different stages of fiber development

249th National Meeting (2015)

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