Degradation of Cellulose by Singlet Oxygen

This work has been aimed at determining where the initial attack on the cellulose molecule, by singlet oxygen, occurs. The work has employed Infra-red (i.r.) spectroscopy. The i.r. spectra of irradiated celluloses are complex It was therefore decided to study the effect of visible radiation on cellobiose, the dimmer of beta-D-glucose and a model for cellulose, absorbed on cotton fabric dyed with Cibanone Yellow R (CGY), a photosensitizing vat dye capable of producing singlet oxygen