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Cellulose, as the most abundant sustainable resource on earth, can be chemically transformed into a variety of biodegradable materials, which have been proposed as the ideal substitutes for plastic products. The first challenge for the fabrication of cellulose-based functional materials is the successful dissolution of cellulose by solvents. However, most existing cellulose solvents have environmental, economic, and other drawbacks that limit their further industrial applications. Research on developing novel solvent systems with "greener" and "cheaper" properties is needed to meet the challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this work, the 1-allyl-3-alkylimidazolium chloride ionic liquids were synthesized and characterized by increasing carbon atoms (n ≤6) of alkyl chains on a cationic 3-imidazole ring. The results indicated that 1-allyl-3-alkylimidazolium chloride with asymmetrical structure on the two sides of a cationic 3-imidazole ring (i.e., n =1, 2, 6) exhibited alkalinity and lower thermal stabilities, and showed better solubility to the cellulose samples at 60–120°C than those with symmetrical structures (n =3, 4). The cellulose samples treated by 20% (w/w) ethylenediamine solution showed better solubility in 1-allyl-3-ethyl, hexyl-imidazolium chloride ionic liquids than that treated with 20% (w/w) NaOH solution at 5°C for 72h. XRD and TG analysis indicated that 002 plane apparent crystallite size as well as thermal stability of the regenerated cellulose samples from the ionic liquids decreased significantly compared with the untreated cellulose samples. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]