viscose is a solution of cellulose xanthate made by treating dissolving pulp with aqueous sodium hydroxide and carbon disulfide. byproducts include sodium thiocarbonate, sodium carbonate, and sodium sulfide. the viscose solution is used to spin the fiber viscose rayon, or rayon, a soft man-made fiber commonly used in dresses, linings, shirts, shorts, coats, jackets, and other outer wear; it is also used in industrial yarns (tyre cord), upholstery and carpets. it is also used in the casting of cellophane. ==manufacture== viscose rayon is a fiber of regenerated cellulose; it is structurally similar to cotton. cellulose is a linear polymer of Î²-d-glucose units with the empirical formula (c6h10o5)n. to prepare viscose, dissolving pulp is treated with aqueous sodium hydroxide (typically 16-19% w/w) to form "alkali cellulose," which has the approximate formula [c6h9o4-ona]n. the alkali cellulose is then treated with carbon disulfide to form sodium cellulose xanthate. :[c6h9o4-ona]n + ncs2 â [c6h9o4-ocs2na]n the higher the ratio of cellulose to combined sulfur, the lower the solubility of the cellulose xanthate. the xanthate is dissolved in aqueous sodium hydroxide (typically 2-5% w/w) and allowed to depolymerize to a desired extent, indicated by the solution's viscosity. the rate of depolymerization (ripening or maturing) depends on temperature and is affected by the presence of various inorganic and organic additives, such as metal oxides and hydroxides. air also affects the ripening process since oxygen causes depolymerization. rayon fiber is produced from the ripened solutions by treatment with a mineral acid, such as sulfuric acid. in this step, the xanthate groups are hydrolyzed to regenerate cellulose and release dithiocarbonic acid that later decomposes to carbon disulfide and water: :[c6h9o4-ocs2na]2n + nh2so4 â [c6h9o4-oh]2n +2ncs2 + nna2so4 :h2cos2 â h2o + cs2 aside from regenerated cellulose, acidification gives hydrogen sulfide, sulfur, and carbon disulfide. the thread made from the regenerated cellulose is washed to remove residual acid. the sulfur is then removed by the addition of sodium sulfide solution and impurities are oxidize
Cellulose Synthetic_fibers