44—The Action of Light on Jute

Abstract
In the course of a study on the photochemical degradation of jute, it was observed that a volatile oxidising agent, possibly hydrogen peroxide, is formed from the lignin during irradiation of jute. It is probable that the oxidising agent thus formed mainly accounts for the accelerated degradation of all the constituents of the fibre, resulting in a marked loss in its tensile strength. It appeared that the lignin in jute acts as a sensitiser, like an active dye, which is known to accelerate the photochemical degradation of cellulose through the formation of hydrogen peroxide1. These observations are demonstrated by experiments.

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