Cellulose Regeneration in Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquids and Antisolvent Mixtures: A Density Functional Theory Study

Cellulose can be dissolved in ionic liquids (ILs), and it can be recovered by adding antisolvent such as water or alcohol. In addition, the regenerated cellulose can be used for textiles, degradable membranes, hydrogels/aerogels, etc. However, the regenerated mechanism of cellulose remains ambiguous. In this work, density functional theory (DFT) calculation is reported for the cellulose regeneration from a cellulose/1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate (BmimOAc)/water mixture. To investigate the microscopic effects of the antisolvents, we analyzed the structures and H-bonds of BmimOAc-nH₂O and cellobiose-ILs-nH₂O (n = 0-6) clusters. It can be found that when n ≥ 5 in the BmimOAc-nH₂O clusters, the solvent-separated ion pairs (SIPs) play a dominant position in the system. With the increasing numbers of water molecules, the cation-anion interaction can be separated by water to reduce the effects of ILs on cellulose dissolution. Furthermore, the BmimOAc-nH₂O and cellobiose-ILs (n = 0-6) clusters tend to be a more stable structure with high hydration in an aqueous solution. When the water molecules were added to the system, H-bonds can be formed among H₂O, the hydroxyl of cellulose, and the oxygen of OAc. Therefore, the interactions between cellulose and ILs will be decreased to promote cellulose regeneration. This work would provide some help to understand the mechanism of cellulose regeneration from the view of theoretical calculation.

A theoretical elucidation: why does a SO3H-functionalized imidazolium-based ionic liquid catalyze the conversion of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to levulinic acid?

DFT calculations show a clear picture of how a SO₃H-functionalized imidazolium-based ionic liquid catalyzes the conversion of 5-HMF to LA.

A DFT study on lignin dissolution in imidazolium-based ionic liquids

Co-interaction lead to dissolution of lignin in ILs: H-bonds and π–π stacking.

Dissolution of cellulose in ionic liquids: an ab initio molecular dynamics simulation study

Interactions determining the dissolution of a monomer of β-cellulose, i.e., cellobiose in a room temperature ionic liquid, [Emim][OAc], have been studied using ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. Although anions are the predominant species in the first coordination shell of cellobiose, cations too are present to a minor extent around it. The presence of low concentration of water in the solution does not significantly alter the nature of the coordination environment of cellobiose. All intra-molecular hydrogen bonds of anti-syn cellobiose are replaced by inter-molecular hydrogen bonds formed with the anions, whereas the anti-anti conformer retains an intramolecular hydrogen bond.

Dissolution of cellulose in room temperature ionic liquids: anion dependence

The dissolution of cellulosic biomass in room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) is studied through free energy calculations of its monomer, viz., cellobiose, within a molecular dynamics simulation approach. The solvation free energy (SFE) of cellobiose in ionic liquids containing any of seven different anions has been calculated. The ranking of these liquids based on SFE compares well with experimental data on the solubility of cellulose. The dissolution is shown to be enthalpically dominated, which is correlated with the strength of intermolecular hydrogen bonding between cellobiose and the anions of the IL. Large entropic changes upon solvation in [CF3SO3](-) and [OAc](-) based ionic liquids have been explained in terms of the solvent-aided conformational flexibility of cellobiose.

Pretreatment of rice hulls by ionic liquid dissolution

As a highly available waste product, rice hulls could be a starting block in replacing liquid fossil fuels. However, their silica covering can make further use difficult. This preliminary study investigates effects of dissolving rice hulls in the ionic liquids 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate (EMIM Ac), 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride, (HMIM Cl), and 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (AMIM Cl), and what lignocellulosic components can be precipitated from the used ionic liquid with water and ethanol. EMIM Ac dissolution at 110 °C for 8 h was found to completely remove lignin from rice hulls, while ethanol was capable of precipitating lignin out of the used EMIM Ac. With 8h dissolution at 110 °C using HMIM Cl, approximately 20% of the cellulose in the rice hull sample can be precipitated out using water as co-solvent, while more than 60% of the hemicellulose can be precipitated with ethanol.

Coupling of nanoporous chromium, aluminium-containing silicates with an ionic liquid for the transformation of glucose into 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furaldehyde

Micro/mesoporous chromium, aluminium-containing silicates of the type TUD-1 (Al-TUD-1, Cr-TUD-1, CrAl-TUD-1) and zeolite BEA, Cr-BEA, and related composites BEA/TUD-1 and Cr-BEA/TUD-1, were prepared, characterised, and tested as solid acids coupled with the ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([bmim]Cl) as solvent, in the transformation of D-glucose into 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furaldehyde (Hmf), at 120 °C. The chromium-containing catalytic systems lead to considerably higher Hmf yields in comparison to the related systems without chromium. The IL is a favourable solvent for this target reaction (in terms of Hmf yields reached) compared to water or dimethylsulfoxide. A detailed study on the stabilities of the nanoporous solid acids in the IL medium is presented.