Cellulose Oligomers: Preparation from Cellulose Triacetate, Chemical Transformations and Reactions

Cellulose oligomers obtained by a new degradation method (pivaloylysis) are used as starting materials in organic synthesis. On the one hand these oligomers are functionalized to potent glycosyl donors, on the other hand several methods are shown to generate different types of hydroxy compounds (glycosyl acceptors). Glycosidation reactions performed with these two types of building blocks allow an access to linear products (unidisperse celluloses) as well as to new branched cellulose units.