RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COTTON FIBER STRENGTH AND CELLULOSE MOLECULAR-WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION - HVI CALIBRATION STANDARDS

High volume instrument (HVI) classing of the U.S. cotton crop has focu sed attention on fiber quality, particularly strength. Characteristic of polymers is the relationship between molecular weight and physical properties. Cotton fibers composed mostly of the polymer cellulose wer e dissolved in the solvent N,N-dimethylacetamide with lithium chloride without cleanup or derivatization. Molecular weight distributions wer e determined by automated, nonaqueous gel permeation chromatography; H VI calibration standard cottons possessing a range of fiber lengths an d strengths were sampled. Molecular compositional profiles indicate co rrelation of higher average molecular weight with greater strength of cotton fibers.