Question

Is wood soluble in water? How do you know?

Answer 1

Hint: Solubility is the ability of a substance mainly solute to dissolve in solvent. The solvent can be solid, liquid, or gaseous. Solubility depends upon the physical and chemical properties of solute and solvent.

Complete step-by-step answer:
Cellulose is a polysaccharide that consists of a linear chain of glucose units. It is a very important component of the cell wall of plants. It is the most abundant organic polymer on earth. It has no taste and it is odorless. It is biodegradable and derived from D-glucose units. Hemicellulose is a heteropolymer which is present with cellulose in all cell walls. Hemicellulose consists of diverse sugars. It consists of shorter chains of sugar units. They bind with pectin to cellulose and form cross link fibers.

Wood is a mixture of hemicellulose and cellulose, impregnated with lignin, that is a naturally occurring cross linked phenolic polymer. It is very important for formation of cell walls, especially in wood as they do not rot easily and they lend rigidity. Cellulose and hemicellulose are found in plant cells. The hemicellulose and cellulose are insoluble in water. They would not form cell walls when they are dissolved in water. Lignin is cross linked to naturally occurring phenolic polymers.We know that wood is insoluble as trees take in water through roots into the trunk. Therefore, water is insoluble in water.

Note: Polymers are defined as materials that consist of repeating large molecules. We often get confused between cellulose and hemicellulose. But cellulose is a crystalline strong polymer, whereas hemicellulose is amorphous and has very little strength.