X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) was used to characterize the functional groups present on regenerated cellulose films after mild oxidation with TEMPO-NaBr-NaClO and the results were correlated with the adhesion forces holding together two wet cellulose films laminated with a thin (i.e. less than 10 mg/m 2 ) layer of polyvinylamine (PVAm). There was no correlation between adhesion and carboxyl content, whereas wet adhesion was proportional to the total content of aldehyde and hemiacetal groups on the cellulose. It is proposed that aldehyde groups react with neighboring cellulose chains to form hemiacetals which serve as crosslinks strengthening the cellulose surface. The hemiacetals can also be attacked by primary amines to give imine and aminal covalent linkages to the PVAm adhesive layer.

We propose that a testing procedure we call wet-peel significantly augments conventional wet paper testing when comparing wet-strength resin efficacy or the influence wood pulp fiber surface treatments on wet paper strength. A thin layer of wet-strength resin is sandwiched between a pair of thin, wet regenerated cellulose membranes to form a laminate, which is a physical model for fiber-fiber joints in paper. In the wet-peel method, the ninety-degree wet-delamination force gives a direct measure of adhesion in the wet cellulose-cellulose joint. Wet-peel measurements offer: 1) comparisons of wet-strength polymers at the same content of polymer in the laminate joint without the influences of varying fines contents, formation or paper density; 2) measurements of both the wet-strength of cured, dried joints, and the strength of never-dried joints (i. e. analogous to wet-web strength); 3) demonstrations of the influence of fiber surface chemistry modifications including oxidation and the presence of firmly bound polymers; and, 4) the evaluation of more exotic joint structures including layer-by-layer assemblies, microgels and colloidal polyelectrolyte complexes.