Abstract

Photo-induced colour reversion of unbleached thermomechanical pulp under UV irradiation at 320 nm was studied by FT-IR transmission spectroscopy. The changes of peak heights against the irradiation time were analyzed assuming concurrent first-order reaction processes with slow and fast reaction rates, where r S and r F are slow and fast reaction rates, respectively. The values of r S were larger for peaks due to lignin than for peaks due to carbohydrates (cellulose and hemicellulose), and the slow process predominates for both lignin and carbohydrate peaks. Carbohydrate CH bonds decreased more quickly than CO bonds in carbohydrates during irradiation; r S for the peak assignable to carbohydrate sugar ring stretching is very small. Three newly generated peaks at 2981, 1723, and 1190 cm -1 are attributed to lignin break-down products: they are assignable to CH 2 symmetric (in >CH=CH 2 ) or CH 3 asymmetric stretching vibrations, to non-conjugated carbonyl vibrations, and to C-O stretching of free phenol units, respectively. Weight loss of the sample was observed during irradiation

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