Abstract: A series of water-soluble amphoteric cellulose derivatives were prepared by quaternary ammonium cationization of carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) in aqueous sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide by using 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyltrime chloride (CHPAC) as the cationic monomer in isopropanol-water mixture.The quaternarizationreaction was studied with respect to the drgree of substitution of quaternary ammonium(DSQ) of canonized CMC and the reaction efficiency of quaternarization variables studied included the content of carboxymethyl groups in CMC, the type and amount of alkali, theamount of CHPAC and the solvent composition.The IR, X-ray diffraction and DSC spectraof pure CMC and the quaternized CMC with different DSQ were investigated and their be-haviour in aqueous solution was studied by viscosity measurements.

Key words: water-soluble amphoteric cellulose derivative, quaternarization, carboxymethylcellulose, solution behaviour