Dissolution Condition Effect on Cellulose in Ionic Liquid and the Recycling of Ionic Liquid
Recently, room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) have been widely used in dissolution, homogeneous modification of cellulose. Cellulose only could be dissolved in RTILs at elevated temperature. Herein, effect of dissolution condition on microcrystalline cellulose in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Bmim]Cl) ionic liquid was studied. The results indicated that the degree of polymerization (DP) of regenerated cellulose decreased from 161 to 83 with the increasing of dissolution temperature in the range of 70 °C to 110 °C, whereas the DP was affected by dissolution time slightly. Moreover, after dissolution [Bmim]Cl could be recycled by distillation and vacuum drying. The recycled [Bmim]Cl also had good dissolving capability of cellulose, and its FTIR spectra was similar to that of original [Bmim]Cl.