Dissolution and blending of chitosan using 1,3-dimethylimidazolium chloride and 1-H-3-methylimidazolium chloride binary ionic liquid solvent

A novel, lower viscosity and highly efficient ionic liquid (IL), 1,3-dimethylimidazolium chloride (DMImCl), has been prepared. This IL together with another IL 1-H-3-methylimidazolium chloride (HMImCl) have been developed for the dissolution and regeneration of chitosan, which can be used to prepare chitosan/cellulose blended membranes and fibers. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), Fourier transform IR (FTIR) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) were used to visualize the modifications of the native structures of chitosan during the dissolution and the regeneration processes. No or little ammonium salts came into being in the dissolution process of chitosan. The morphological features and mechanical properties of the blended materials were carried out to evaluate the effect of blending by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and tensile testing, respectively. The resulting chitosan/cellulose blended membranes and fibers not only present brown compact structure but also possess good mechanical properties.