Effect of fiber orientation in dynamic FTIR study on native cellulose

The properties of cellulose materials are highly dependent on the interactions between and within the cellulose chains mainly related to inter- and intramolecular hydrogen bonds. To investigate the deformation behavior of cellulose and its relation to molecular straining, cellulose sheets with different fiber orientations were studied by dynamic FTIR spectroscopy. The sheets were stretched sinusoidally at low strains while being irradiated with polarized infrared light. It is shown that the polarization direction determines the dynamic IR response to a higher extent than the fiber direction in the sample sheets. Different polarization modes give different dynamic signals, allowing conclusions to be drawn on the structural orientation of submolecular groups in the cellulose molecules. The bands in the spectra mainly affected by the deformation of the sheets were derived from skeletal vibrations that include the C-O-C bridge connecting adjacent rings and from the hydrogen bonds. The conclusion that these groups are the ones that are mainly deformed under load has thereby experimentally demonstrated the theoretical calculations from Tashiro and Kobayashi [Tashiro, K.; Kobayashi, M. Polymer 1991, 32, 1516-1526].