The present PhD thesis demonstrated the feasibility of an alternative, greener and cost-effective process for cellulose dissolution and regeneration into textile fibres, by introducing carboxyl groups via the periodate-chlorite oxidative sequence.
The work has overcome the issues hitherto encountered in such a process: on the one hand, the total dissolution of cellulose with a sufficiently high degree of polymerization (DP) to enable the regeneration of resistant textile fibres, and on the other, the reduction in the cost of the process by regenerating the periodate at acid-neutral pH.
To achieve this, in-depth studies were carried out on the side-reactions encountered during the periodate-chlorite oxidation sequence, on the different activation pathways of the oxidation sequence, the distribution of carboxyl groups and then on the regeneration of periodate with oxone at acid-neutral pH.
