1,2,3,4-Butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA) reacts with cellulose in two steps: anhydride formation of adjacent carboxyl groups in BTCA and esterification of anhydride with cellulose, which are generally catalyzed by alkaline salts including sodium hypophosphite. The role of the salts in the reactions has been unclear. As an effort in fully understanding the catalytic effects of the salts, reaction mechanisms of alkaline metal ions and acid anions of the salts were investigated in details in the reactions. In this research, functions of alkaline metal ions on the formation of anhydride were studied. Results indicated that the existence of lithium, sodium or potassium promoted the formation of anhydride, and potassium ion was the most efficient one among these three ions. Besides, the reactions of a BTCA molecule with cellulose undergo a step-by-step process, i.e. formation of one anhydride and esterification of the anhydride with cellulose, and then formation of another anhydride and esterification of it to establish cross-linking by the BTCA.

1,2,3,4-丁烷四羧酸（BTCA）与纤维素反应分为两个步骤：BTCA中相邻羧基的酸酐形成以及酸酐与纤维素的酯化反应，通常由次磷酸盐钠等碱性盐催化。盐在反应中的作用尚不清楚。为了充分理解盐的催化作用，在反应中详细研究了盐的碱金属离子和酸阴离子的反应机理。在这项研究中，研究了碱金属离子对酸酐形成的作用。结果表明，锂，钠或钾的存在促进了酸酐的形成，而钾离子是这三种离子中最有效的一种。除了，