Abstract
The production of cellulose/chitosan blends in alkyl imidazolium ionic liquids (ILs) was studied in this work. Selected organic solvents, such as dimethyl sulfoxide, ethyl acetate, and diethyl ether, were used as cosolvents. The addition of cosolvents decreased the viscosity of cellulose/chitosan solutions in ILs and facilitated the dissolution of polysaccharides, thereby decreasing the and polymer aggregates sizes in the solutions. The cellulose/chitosan films were produced from the studied solutions. The presence of one of cosolvent and ILs in the blended films was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy. The blended film is stronger than pure cellulose film, and the addition of cosolvents has an influence on its mechanical properties.
Highlights
Since 2002 ionic liquids (ILs) have been established as direct solvents for cellulose dissolution [1, 2]
The addition of cosolvents decreased the viscosity of cellulose/chitosan solutions in ILs and facilitated the dissolution of polysaccharides, thereby decreasing the Eact and polymer aggregates sizes in the solutions
We found that using a cosolvent to facilitate the dissolution of polysaccharides in ILs leads to additional swelling and deep destruction of the structure of chitosan, which resulted in lowering its Mw
Summary
Since 2002 ILs have been established as direct solvents for cellulose dissolution [1, 2]. Cellulose films and fibers produced from ILs solutions could be modified to improve their water absorption, dyeability, and mechanical and bactericidal properties [5,6,7]. It is possible to obtain unique mixtures of polymers in ILs, for example, mixtures of cellulose, starch, and lignin [16]. The reactivity of chitosan is more versatile due to the presence of NH2 groups [17]. The blending of these two polymers could be a prospective way to their modification and improving the properties of the final products
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