Succinoylation of cellulose catalyzed with iodine in ionic liquid

In present study, succinoylation of sugarcane bagasse cellulose was performed with succinic anhydride (SA) using iodine as a catalyst in solvent system containing ionic liquid (IL), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C4mim]Cl), and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). The results showed that all succinylated cellulosic derivatives had the degree of substitution (DS) in the range of 0.56–1.54, which noticeably increased compared with the products without any catalysts, indicating that iodine was an effective catalyst for cellulose succinoylation in ionic liquids. The succinylated cellulosic derivatives were also characterized with FT-IR and solid-state CP/MAS 13C NMR spectroscopies. The results indicated that the iodine-catalyzed succinoylation efficiency increased, and the reaction of hydroxyl groups at C-6, C-2 and C-3 positions in cellulose occurred. The thermal stability of the succinylated cellulose was found to decrease upon chemical modification.