In the regeneration of dissolved cellulose (in a cuprammonium solution) in an acid bath, say sulphuric acid, what is the chemical reaction?
There is a lot about the chemistry of the production of the copper ammonia complex but nothing about the precipitation step.
Is the precipitation possible with any acid?
Apologies about the tag - can't find any existing ones that are appropriate
It's possible to regenerate cellulose from Schweizer's reagent by dilution in plain water, though neutralization of the high pH+ cuprammonium solution with an acid is more efficient. $\ce{HCl}$ works as well as $\ce{H2SO4}$. Economics probably drives the choice.
The chemistry is based on breaking cellulose, a polysaccharide (polymer) β(1→4) linked D-glucose, into smaller, soluble, segments, and reconstituting the longer polysaccharide through neutralization.
