Interactions of water-DMSO mixtures with cellulose

The equilibrium in water-dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and cellulose-water-DMSO systems was studied in a wide range of solvent compositions by Knudsen's effusion method. It was shown that water sorption on cellulose dominates in the concentration range of 0 < xD < 0.28. At low DMSO concentrations (xD ∼ 0.1) the water sorption on cellulose is higher than that for pure water. The hydrogen bonding between the hydroxyls of cellulose and the oxygen atom of DMSO is more favorable at xD > 0.6 when the formation of “large” DMSO clusters dominates over the formation of DMSO dimers with hydrophobic properties.