The nature of acid‐sensitive linkages in cellulose

Abstract Experiments with s:tmples of cellulose regenerated in various ways confirm the earlier observation that their initially high rate of acidic hydrolysis under heterogeneous conditions is considerably greater than that calculated for the normal glucosidic bonds. The presence of such weak bonds appears to be a general phenomenon, and the process by which they are formed does not seem to be associated with any specific chemical reaction. It is thus suggested that the enhanced rate a t which these bonds degrade may be a physical effect, resulting either from strains set up in the chain molecules in the amorphous regions or from local variations in the normal state of hydrogen bonding.