Preparation and characterization of crosslinked porous cellulose beads

Porous cellulose beads have been prepared from cellulose diacetate under the conditions of the pore-forming agents and latter-crosslinked with epichlorohydrin. The reaction conditions and the amount of the pore-forming agents have been optimized in order to obtain beads with various macropore sizes. The crosslinking density of these beads was calculated from their swelling properties by a modified Flory equation. The pore volume, pore structure, porosity and the swelling behavior in water of these beads have been studied.