Abstract
Chitin particles are chemically and mechanically stable due to the strong inter- and intra-sheet network of hydrogen bonds and the large number of crystalline regions. Thus, it is difficult to make any modification of the chitin particles themselves. Therefore, new solvents which can modify the structure of chitin particles are being sought. This work presents the influence of unreported ionic liquids (ILs) containing the TCB anion on chitin: three of them contained the imidazolium ring, ([Im], [Dmim], [EOHmim]) and another three contained the pyridinum ring ([Pyr], [EOHpyr], [POHpyr]). Chitin did not dissolve in any of the tested ILs but the ILs were able to modify the structure (porosity and corrugation) of chitin particles. It has also been shown that [EOHpyr][TCB] caused the degradation of chitin particles. The degradation process strongly depends on temperature and the time of interaction; choosing proper conditions, particles with a narrow particle size distribution could be obtained.
Highlights
Ionic liquids (ILs) capable of dissolving or modifying chitin or chitosan particles have recently been intensively investigated
The aim of the present paper is to show the influence of selected ionic liquids (ILs) containing the TCB anion on chitin particles
As the main goal of our investigation is to find the ILs that would be able to change the structure of chitin particles, we have focused our investigations on the solubility of chitin in ILs, changes in the structure of chitin particles observed under electron microscope (SEM) and changes in particle size distribution (Laser Diffraction Particle Size Analyzer)
Summary
Ionic liquids (ILs) capable of dissolving or modifying chitin or chitosan particles have recently been intensively investigated. Their ability to dissolve chitin is extremely interesting as it gives the opportunity to apply solvents that are less toxic and less corrosive than those presently used, like LiCl/dimethylacetamide, concentrated (16%) cold (around 0 °C) NaOH solution or CaCl2ÁH2O saturated with methanol [1, 2]. The modification should be focused to create particles with a large, expanded surface as there will be a larger number of binding centers in comparison to untreated chitin. Such particles (with a large external surface area) can be used to prepare new carriers for enzymes or a new matrix for chromatography. It is difficult to prepare such particles using typical solvents for the chitin
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