| C | H | O | |
| Elementary composition | 43.55 | 6.03 | 50.42 |
| Oxycellulose | Original cellulose | ||
| Analysis by Lange's method | |||
| Soluble in KOH (at 180°) | 87.6 | 12.0 | |
| Insoluble in KOH (at 180°) | 12.4 | 88.0 | |
| Oxycellulose | Original cellulose | ||
| Heat of combustion | 4124-4133 | 4190-4224 | |
| Heat evolved in contact with 50 times wt. normal KOH per 100 grms. | 1.3 cal. | 0.74 cal. | |
| Oxycellulose | Cellulose | ||
| Absorption of colouring matters at 100° per 100 grms. | Saffranine | 0.7 | 0.0 |
| Methylene blue | 0.6 | 0.2 |
(b) Yield of furfural from cellulose, oxy- and hydro-cellulose.—From the hydrocelluloses variously prepared the author obtains 0.8 p.ct. furfural; from bleached cotton 1.8 p.ct.; and from the oxycelluloses variously prepared 2.0-3.5 p.ct. The 'furfuroid' is relatively more soluble in alkaline solutions (KOH) in the cold. The insoluble residue is a normal cellulose.
(c) Nitrates of cellulose, oxy- and hydro-cellulose.—Treated with the usual acid mixture (H2SO4 3 p., HNO3 1 p.) under conditions for maximum action, the resulting esters showed uniformly a fixation of 11.0 NO2 groups per unit mol. of C24. The oxycellulose nitrate was treated directly with dilute solution of potassium hydrate in the cold. From the products of decomposition the author obtained the osazone of hydroxypyruvic acid [Will, Ber. 24, 400].
(d) Osazones of the oxycelluloses.—Oxycelluloses prepared by various methods are found to fix varying proportions of phenylhydrazine (residue), viz. from 3.4-8.5 p.ct. of the cellulose derivative reacting, corresponding with, i.e. calculated from, the nitrogen determined in the products (0.87-2.2 p.ct.). The reaction is assumed to be that of osazone formation.
The author has also established a relation between the phenylhydrazine fixed and the furfural which the substance yields on boiling with condensing acids. This is illustrated by the subjoined series of numbers:
| Fixed p.ct. | formed p.ct. | ||
| Cotton (bleached) | 1.73 | 1.60 | |
| Oxycellulose | (HClO3) | 7.94 | 2.09 |
| " | (HClO) | 3.37 | 1.79 |
| " | (CrO3) (1) | 7.03 | 3.00 |
| " | (CrO3) (2) | 7.71 | 3.09 |
| " | (CrO3) (3) | 8.48 | 3.50 |
(e) Constitution of cellulose and oxycellulose.—The results of these investigations are generalised as regards cellulose (C_6) by the constitutional formula
The oxycelluloses contain the characteristic group
