Homogeneous Acetylation of Cellulose at Relatively High Concentrations in an Ionic Liquid

At relatively high cellulose mass concentrations (8%, 10%, and 12%), homogeneous acetylation of cellulose was carried out in an ionic liquid, 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (AmimCl). Without using any catalyst, cellulose acetates (CAs) with the degree of substitution (DS) in a range from 0.4 to 3.0 were synthesized in one-step. The effects of reaction time, temperature and molar ratio of acetic anhydride/anhydroglucose unit (AGU) in cellulose on DS value of CAs were investigated. The synthesized CAs were characterized by means of FT-IR, NMR, and solubility, mechanical and thermal tests. After the acetylation, the used ionic liquid AmimCl was easily recycled and reused. This study shows the potential of the homogeneous acetylation of cellulose at relatively high concentrations in ionic liquids in future industrial applications.