The relationship between molecular weight of bacterial cellulose and the viscosity of its copper (II) ethylenediamine solutions

There are difficulties in measuring the molecular weight (Mw) of bacterial cellulose (BC) using Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC) analysis. Additionally, the Mark-Houwink-Sakurada equation cannot be used to predict the Mw of BC as no Mark-Houwink-Sakurada constant specific to BC is available. In this study, a systematic approach is developed to establish the relationship between the Mw of BC and the viscosity of its copper (II) ethylenediamine (CED) solutions. Impurities contained in the raw BC are examined and appropriate purification procedures are designed for their removal before the above two measurements are conducted. The Mw of BC is obtained by measuring the Degree of Polymerization of its corresponding cellulose acetate (CA), derived from degraded BC, using GPC analysis, and the viscosity of the CED solutions of the BC is measured using a BS/U Tube viscometer. In this paper, the Mark–Houwink–Sakurada constants (K=0.3752 mL/g and \(\alpha\) $\alpha$ =1.4532) specific for BC are determined to relate the Mw of BC with the intrinsic viscosity of its CED solutions. It is also found that the Mw of BC is proportional to the dynamic viscosity (i.e., \(\eta _{BC} =0.0183Mw^{1.3069}\) ${\eta }_{\mathit{BC}}=0.0183M{w}^{1.3069}$ ) and the flow time (i.e., \(t_{BC} =1.3809\) $t_{\mathit{BC}}=1.3809$ Mw \(^{1.3062}\) $_{}^{1.3062}$ ) of its CED solutions. These BC-specific relationships can help determine the Mw of BC from the rheological properties of its CED solutions.