How is nitrocellulose made?
How is nitrocellulose made?
Nitrocellulose is made by treating cellulose with a mixture of sulfuric and nitric acids. This changes the hydroxyl groups (–OH) in the cellulose to nitro groups (–NO3) as shown in Fig. Nitrocellulose, also know as gun cotton and the main ingredient of smokeless gunpowder, decomposes explosively.
What type of polymer is nitrocellulose?
nitrate cellulose ester polymer
Nitrocellulose has a similar aspect to cotton (white and fibrous texture). It is a nitrate cellulose ester polymer with β (1→4) bonds between monomers, produced from the nitration of cell…
Why is nitrocellulose used?
Nitrocellulose is used in explosives, rocket propellant, lacquer, flash paper, smokeless gunpowder, leather finishing, as a printing ink base, in coating bookbinding cloth, in laboratory testing films, in ping-pong balls, in pharmaceuticals and in celluloid used for early x-ray, photographic and movie film.
Where can nitrocellulose be found?
Nitrocellulose is a highly flammable polymer. It is also known as flash paper, guncotton, or flash string. All you need to do to make nitrocellulose is treat cellulose with nitric acid or any other strong nitrating agent. The cellulose can come from paper, cotton, wood, or other plant matter.
What is the source of nitrocellulose?
In the commercial manufacture of nitrocellulose, wood pulp is the primary source of cellulose. Cellulose sheet and nitrating acids are fed into a reacting vessel, where nitration proceeds until the acids have been centrifuged from the nitrated product.
Which is semi synthetic polymer?
Therefore Cellulose nitrate, cellulose acetate and vulcanised rubber are examples of semi synthetic polymers.
Is nitrocellulose a plastic?
Nitrocellulose plastics are quite resistant to common acid and alkali attack at ambient temperatures, are noncompressible, transparent in thin laminae, dif- ficult to twist, and extremely resistant to tearing.
Why is nitrocellulose used in Western blotting?
Nitrocellulose membranes are a popular matrix used in protein blotting because of their high protein-binding affinity, compatibility with a variety of detection methods (chemiluminescence, chromogenic, and fluorescence), and the ability to immobilize proteins, glycoproteins, or nucleic acids.
What is nitrocellulose lacquer and its origin?
Nitrocellulose lacquer was first invented in 1921 by Edmund Flaherty while working for the DuPont Chemical Company. The rights to it were quickly bought by the Ford automotive company. When mixed with pigments, the nitrocellulose made an excellent quick-drying paint, speeding Ford’s car production immensely.
What is nitrocellulose lacquer made of?
Nitrocellulose lacquer is made by mixing fast-drying solvents with wood and cotton pulp containing cellulose that has been broken down by nitric and sulfuric acid. Edmund Flaherty, a chemist working for the DuPont Chemical Company, is credited for inventing nitrocellulose lacquer in 1921.
Is nitrocellulose lacquer explosive?
Collodion, a solution of nitrocellulose in ether and ethanol, is a flammable liquid. When dry, nitrocellulose is explosive and can be ignited with heat, spark, or friction.