The physical properties of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) anionic cellulose , appearance for white or light yellow flocculent fiber powder or white powder, odourless tasteless, non-toxic; It is readily soluble in cold or hot water, forming a transparent solution with a certain viscosity. The solution is neutral or slightly alkaline, insoluble in organic solvents such as ethanol, isopropanol, but soluble in ethanol. It is hygroscopic, stable to light and heat, and its viscosity decreases with the increase of temperature. The solution is stable at pH 2 to 10. When pH is lower than 2, solid precipitates, and when pH is higher than 10, viscosity decreases. The color change temperature is 227℃, the carbonization temperature is 252℃, and the surface tension of a 2% aqueous solution is 71mn/n. 

Chemical properties by carboxymethyl cellulose derivatives of substituent, deal with cellulose to form alkali cellulose with sodium hydroxide, then was prepared with monochloroacetic acid reaction. The glucose units that make up cellulose have three hydroxyl groups that can be displaced, so products with different degrees of displacement can be obtained.

When an average of 1mmol of carboxymethyl is introduced per 1g of dry weight, it does not dissolve in water or dilute acid but can swell and is used in ion-exchange chromatography. Carboxymethyl pKa is approximately 4 in pure water and 3.5 in 0.5mol/L NaCl. It is a weakly acidic cation exchanger and is typically used for the separation of neutral and basic proteins when pH is greater than 4. Those with more than 40% of hydroxyl groups replaced by carboxymethyl groups are soluble in water to form stable high-viscosity colloidal solutions.