Synthesis of Quaternary Ammonium Room-Temperature Ionic Liquids and their Application in the Dissolution of Cellulose

oleh: Yao-Hsuan Tseng, Yu-Yin Lee, Shih-Hsun Chen

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2019-04-01

Deskripsi

In this work, several kinds of quaternary ammonium-based room-temperature ionic liquids (QA RTILs) are synthesized by alkylation and ion-exchange reactions for the rapid dissolution of cellulose. The applications of cellulose materials have been limited due to their poor solubility in conventional organic solvents, because of a high degree of structural regularity and a large number of hydrogen bonds. The prepared ionic liquids were identified by nuclear magnetic resonance, elemental analysis, and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results indicated that <i>N,N,N</i>-triethylhexan-1-aminium acetate (N<sub>6222</sub>OAc), tetrahexylammonium acetate (N<sub>6666</sub>OAc), and <i>N,N,N,N&#8242;,N&#8242;,N&#8242;</i>-hexaethyldecane-1,10-diaminium acetate (C<sub>10</sub>(N<sub>222</sub>OAc)<sub>2</sub>) exhibited good cellulose-dissolution without any pretreatment. The regenerated cellulose films with a low degree of crystallization of the cellulose II phase were also prepared easily in this process using N<sub>6222</sub>OAc due to its polar and small cation. These QA RTILs can be used as non-derivatizing solvents for cellulose and can also be easily recycled because of their thermostable and nonvolatile properties.