Probing cellulose amphiphilicity

Cellulose dissolution and regeneration is an increasingly active research field due to the direct relevance for numerous production processes and applications. The problem is not trivial since cellulose solvents are of remarkably different nature and thus the understanding of the subtle balance between the different interactions involved becomes difficult but crucial. There is a current discussion in literature on the balance between hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions in controlling the solution behavior of cellulose. This treatise attempts to review recent work highlighting the marked amphiphilic characteristics of cellulose and role of hydrophobic interactions in dissolution and regeneration. Additionally, a few examples of our own research are discussed focusing on the role of different additives in cellulose solubility. The data does support the amphiphilic behavior of cellulose, which clearly should not be neglected when developing new solvents and strategies for cellulose dissolution and regeneration.