Cellulose Fiber Dissolution in Sodium Hydroxide Solution at Low Temperature: Dissolution Kinetics and Solubility Improvement

In a summary, we have gained new insight into mechanism of the cellulose dissolution in alkali solution with or without urea, especially its dependency on temperature. We also explored a new way to enhance the cellulose solubility and found that a certain component of hemicellulose may have special connection to cellulose that cannot be easily broken by chemical treatments, possibly leading to the difficulty of wood fiber dissolution.