Quantitative X-Ray Investigations on the Crystallinity of Cellulose Fibers. A Background Analysis

A quantitative investigation of the intensity of scattered radiation in a series of native and regenerated cellulosic objects, including bacterial cellulose and fibers transformed into cellulose IV, is offered. The technique used involves the use of copper radiation monochromatized by reflection, specimens with randomized orientation of equal size and density, rotation of the plane film, and measurement of primary beam intensity by means of a device introduced by Goppel.The procedure of evaluation consists of measuring integrated intensities of the crystalline peaks and that of the diffuse background. After correction of the latter for radiation scattered by air and for the background components due to Compton radiation and thermal scattering, as derived from exposures of sugar crystals and diamond, the diffuse background is represented by a curve exhibiting a flat maximum.The height of this maximum was assumed to be a correct relative measure of the disordered portion and the total intensity of the coher...