The effect of tetramethylammonium hydroxide in comparison with the effect of sodium hydroxide on the slow pyrolysis of cellulose

摘要

The effect of two bases, tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) used in thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation (THM) analysis of biopolymers and NaOH generally used in cellulose and textile industry, was compared in the pyrolysis of cotton cellulose at very low concentrations using differential thermal analysis, data obtained from thermogravimetry/mass spectrometry and pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) to get more information about the reactive decomposition of cellulose. Highly purified cotton cellulose was impregnated with NaOH or TMAH to various weight levels up to 5%, immediately dried and pyrolysed in He atmosphere. The interaction with cellulose has a stabilizing effect on TMAH. Both bases decrease the temperature of the decomposition with increasing concentration, however, the decomposition patterns are different. The differences in the pyrolysis are enhanced by the methylating effect of TMAH.