Editing Rayon (section)

=== Bernigaut's method ===

Bernigaut's nitrocellulose rayon was nitrocellulose produced from cellulose where cellulose is obtained from cotton and reacted with a mixture of sulfuric and nitric acid. Nitration occurs as:<ref name="Myers 2007 pp20–23">{{Cite book |last=Myers |first=Richard L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0AnJU-hralEC |title=The 100 Most Important Chemical Compounds: A Reference Guide |date=2007 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-33758-1 |pages=20–23 |access-date=21 November 2015 |archive-date=17 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617093705/https://books.google.com/books?id=0AnJU-hralEC |url-status=live }}</ref>

[C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>7</sub>O<sub>2</sub>(OH)<sub>3</sub>]<sub>n</sub> + HNO<sub>3</sub> ↔ [C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>7</sub>O<sub>2</sub>(NO<sub>3</sub>)<sub>3</sub>]<sub>n</sub> +H<sub>2</sub>O.

The sulfuric acid is used take up the water formed in the reaction leaving nitrocellulose.<ref name="Myers 2007 pp20–23" />