The Molecular-crystal Structure of Cellulose

The structural models of the principal polymorphic varieties of cellulose proposed by different workers during the last two decades are analysed, the results obtained by the main structural methods are considered, and the reliability of a particular structural model is estimated. The ambiguity of the solution of the structural problems for cellulose in the cases of the existing diffraction data, even when stereochemical and packing limitations are invoked, is demonstrated. The results of semiempirical energy calculations for the stable structure of cellulose are discussed.
The bibliography includes 106 references.