Preparation and characterization of carbamoylethyl hemicelluloses

The reaction of hemicelluloses, isolated from wheat straw, with acrylamide in alkaline aqueous solution was investigated. The degree of substitution (DS, up to 0.65) of the products could be obtained by adjusting the molar ratios of reagent to xylose unit in hemicelluloses (1.0-10.0) and the molar ratios of catalyst to xylose unit in hemicelluloses (0.5-1.6). Changes in the structure of hemicelluloses were verified by FT-IR and H-1 and C-13 NMR spectroscopies. The results showed that carbamoylethyl groups surely were grafted onto the main chain of hemicelluloses. Moreover, it was also found that the saponification of carbamoylethyl groups to carboxyl groups occurred in alkaline medium. The behavior of modified hemicelluloses was monitored by means of thermo gravimetry (TG) and differential thermal analysis (TGA). It was found that the products had a lower thermal stability than the native hemicelluloses.