Interactions of Ionic Liquids with Polysaccharides – 7: Thermal Stability of Cellulose in Ionic Liquids and <i>N</i>‐Methylmorpholine‐<i>N</i>‐oxide

Abstract

Abstract The thermal behavior of cellulose dissolved in ionic liquids was studied in comparison to NMMO solutions. The cellulose solutions were characterized by reaction calorimetry and UV‐vis spectroscopy. Generation of chromophoric substances in cellulose/IL solutions is minimized by exposing to temperatures of above 100 °C for longer time periods. Dynamic calorimetric investigations revealed first thermal activities above 180 °C applying EMIMac and above 200 °C for BMIMCl and five other ILs tested. Moreover, even in the case of modified cellulose/IL solutions, e.g., activated charcoal, only a slight decline of onset temperatures was registered compared to modified cellulose/NMMO solutions. magnified image