Hydrophobication and characterisation of O-acetyl-galactoglucomannan for papermaking and barrier applications

Norway spruce O-acetyl-galactoglucomannans (GGM) are water-soluble hemicelluloses that have potential to be produced in large scale as a side product of the mechanical pulping industry or by hot-water extraction of wood. Chemical modification is often needed to tailor such water-soluble polysaccharides into industrially valuable compounds. In this work, treatment of GGM with butyric and benzoic anhydride in pyridine/dimethylformamide rendered GGM derivatives, which were hydrophobic and partially soluble in organic solvents. The degree of substitution can be adjusted by varying the quantity of the reagent and reaction temperature. The dn/dc value for the benzoyl ester of GGM was determined in 0.05 M LiBr DMSO in order to obtain accurate molar mass analysis with SEC-MALLS-RI. Novel substances with adjusted hydrophobicity can thus be prepared on one step synthesis from natural hemicelluloses, which then showed a slight increase in the molar mass upon esterification.

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► O-Acetyl-galactoglucomannan was esterified with anhydrides in DMF-pyridine media.
► The GGM esterification rendered it hydrophobic and partially soluble to organic solvents.
► 13C NMR can be used to determine approximate C6/C2+C3 regional substitution.
► dn/dc value of benzoic esters of GGM was determined for accurate molar mass determination.