Two-dimensional Rietveld analysis of celluloses from higher plants

The Rietveld method is a versatile tool to parameterize the fine structure of crystallites analyzed by diffraction. The method relies on a crystallographic model representing what is known a priori, and free coefficients determined from fits to experimental data. This article provides an introduction to Rietveld analysis of celluloses from higher plants that are adequately described by the cellulose Iβ crystal structure. Possibilities of Rietveld analysis have been recently enhanced by a tailored crystallographic model and computational algorithm, named Cellulose Rietveld Analysis for Fine Structure (CRAFS). From each two-dimensional diffraction pattern, CRAFS automated analysis outputs unit cell parameters, crystallite sizes, peak profile functions, integrated crystalline intensity (proportional to cellulose degree of crystallinity), and crystallite orientation distribution function. Two of the major hurdles for analysis of plant cellulose—overlapping of diffraction peaks and preferred crystallite orientation—are consistently treated by the two-dimensional Rietveld analysis. Hence, the method is a unique tool to explore cellulose fine structural variability, with differences arising from specimen conditioning, processing, and biological origins.