Phase transition of 2,3- O -methylcellulose

In this work, a series of 2,3-O-methylcellulose (MC) with different DS value were prepared. Its phase transition behavior in aqueous solution was studied in terms of DS value, concentration and molecular weight. The the following conclusions were obtained. (1) All the 2,3-O-MC samples show no sol-gel transition in aqueous solution despite the molecular weight. (2) No phase separation was observed for the 2,3-O-MCs with a DS value lower than 1.0, even when the temperature was raised to 95°C. (3) The precipitation temperature is surprisingly different between 2,3-O-MCs. and other MCs possessing comparable total DS value. (4) The precipitation temperature of 2,3-O-MCs depends on the molecular weight rather than on the concentration.