Issue 14, 2023

Cellulose processing in ionic liquids from a materials science perspective: turning a versatile biopolymer into the cornerstone of our sustainable future

Abstract

Shaping cellulose into functional materials entered a new era with the introduction of ionic liquids as novel, green solvents about 20 years ago. As non-volatile solvents with high thermal and chemical stability, ionic liquids can provide an environmentally more benign tunable platform for cellulose processing, compared to existing technologies. The past decades have seen fruitful efforts devoted to the development of materials based on ionic liquid/cellulose processing systems. In this review we discuss the experiences gained, and highlight the emerging applications. In particular, coatings and thin film applications for structural materials (e.g., for packaging), thin film filtration membranes, immobilisation of enzymes, and catalytically active nanoparticles, separator membranes and conductive composites for energy storage and other electronics applications, cellulose/biopolymer green biocomposites, cellulose-based ionogels, hydrogels and aerogels, and cellulose-based or composite fibres will be discussed in detail. We will also take a critical look at the perspectives of this field. The use of a certain grade of technical cellulose, and the purity of the prepared materials should be more carefully justified in the future, as they have an influence not only on the properties of the fabricated material, but also on the economics of the process. Furthermore, to make ionic liquids truly green solvents, and competitive alternatives to existing technologies, more studies are needed on recyclability after material fabrication, and on ways to minimise the energy consumption of such processes, among other issues.

Graphical abstract: Cellulose processing in ionic liquids from a materials science perspective: turning a versatile biopolymer into the cornerstone of our sustainable future

Article information

Article type
Tutorial Review
Submitted
12 dek 2022
Accepted
10 may 2023
First published
26 iyn 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Green Chem., 2023,25, 5338-5389

Cellulose processing in ionic liquids from a materials science perspective: turning a versatile biopolymer into the cornerstone of our sustainable future

L. Szabó, R. Milotskyi, G. Sharma and K. Takahashi, Green Chem., 2023, 25, 5338 DOI: 10.1039/D2GC04730F

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements