Facile synthesis of cellulose derivatives based on cellulose acetoacetate

In the present work, cellulose acetoacetates (CAA) was used as a precursor for preparing diversely functionalized cellulose derivatives. Four amino-bearing compounds, namely hexylamine (HA), l-glutamic acid (Glu), cysteine (Cys), and tyramine (TA) were reacted with acetoacetyl groups providing alkyl-, carboxyl-, thiol-, or phenolic functionalized cellulose. The reaction was conducted under mild conditions without catalysts and UV light. The products were characterized with FT-IR, NMR and solubility measurement. ¹H NMR measurement demonstrated the conversion of acetoacetyl groups were ideal, and all the cellulose derivatives demonstrated good solubility in certain solvent. Besides, CAA held a good stability under room temperature. This approach offers broad possibilities for developing new cellulose based materials. Moreover, this protocol can also be applied to fabricate other polysaccharide derivatives.