FE-SEM observation, and mechanism of interaction of wet agar gel in various swelling conditions using hydrophilic ionic liquid

► Exact morphology of agar gel in wet condition as observed by FE-SEM. ► DSC results explained the mechanism of interaction of agar gel using ionic liquid. ► Transition of individual water molecules to large water clusters into ionic liquid was studied. ► 1% linear shrinkage was calculated by volume shrinkage measurement. ► Ionic liquid treated materials in various wet conditions to be observed in FE-SEM.