Dissolution performance of cellulose in [A2im][MOA]/MIM solvents

Abstract

Cellulose solvents ([A₂im][MOA]/MIM) were developed by combining diallylimidazolium methoxyacetate ([A₂im][MOA]) with N-methylimidazole (MIM). The cellulose solubilities in the ([A₂im][MOA]/MIM) solvents were determined at 25 °C, and the effect of the MIM/[A₂im][MOA] molar ratio on cellulose solubility was systematically investigated. Attractively, the solvents show cellulose solubility as high as 25.2 g 100 g⁻¹ even at 25 °C. It is proposed that the H2, H4 and H6 in [A₂im]⁺ and the carboxyl O atom in [MOA]⁻ primarily contribute to the dissolution of cellulose; MIM mainly acts to dissociate [A₂im][MOA] into [A₂im]⁺ and [MOA]⁻, and stabilize the dissolved cellulose chains. Moreover, the porous cellulose materials with varying morphological structures could be tailored by simply tuning the cellulose solution concentration, and the formation mechanism of the cellulose material was discussed.