FUNCTIONALIZATION OF CELLULOSE AND CHITOSAN IN IONIC LIQUIDS

Chemistry of cellulose in ionic liquids has been briefly reviewed and, accordingly, the phthalation of chitosan in these ionic solvents has been investigated. Chitosan (K) has been reacted at 100 °C for 4 hours with phthalic anhydride (PA) in ionic liquids 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate (BMIMAc) and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (BMIMCl) in the presence of bases, pyridine and 1,4-diazobicyclo[2.2.2] octane (DABCO), or the phthalation has been catalyzed by N-bromosuccinimide (NBS). Depending on the nature of the reaction components, the samples were prepared with molar ratios of PA to anhydroglucose unit (PA:K) from 3:1 to 10:1, including molar ratios of bases or catalyst to chitosan, ranging also from 3:1 to 10:1. All the reaction products were soluble in dimethyl sulfoxide and dimethylformamide. Both functional groups of chitosan units, -OH and -NH2 , reacted, resulting in FTIR confirmed products containing esters, amide, and imide functional groups. Heating the isolated phthalated chitosan products to 200 °C led to cyclization with the formation of imide groups and elimination of water. When bases controlled the reactions, the highest degrees of substitution of DABCO product (DS = 0.80) was slightly higher than the highest DC of the reaction products obtained in the presence of pyridine (DS = 0.77). However, the presence of the Nbromosuccinimide catalyst in the system led to an increase of the degree of substitution of the functional groups of chitosan (DS = 1.75), compared with that listed above for the products resulted when the reactions were carried out in the presence of bases. The thermal stability of the chitosan derivatives obtained in the presence of a base depended primarily upon the nature of the counter ion of the ionic liquid. When the reaction was conducted in the acetate ionic liquid BMIMAc, the phthalated chitosan exhibited a lower thermal stability than that of chitosan, while when the chloride ionic liquid BMIMCl was used as solvent, the thermal stability of the phthalated chitosan increased, indicating an interference of the ionic solvents in the mechanisms of reactions. Nevertheless, the thermal behavior of the phthalated products obtained in reactions catalyzed by NBS may be correlated with the increasing degrees of substitution achieved with increased catalyst concentrations: a higher DS resulted in a higher weight loss at higher temperatures.