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The objective of this work was to investigate the influence of hydrogen bonds between fibres on static and dynamic strength properties of paper. A commercial bleached pinewood kraft pulp was soaked in water, refined in a PFI, and used to form paper webs in different solvents, such as water, methanol, ethanol, n-propanol and n-butanol, to determine the effect of their dipole moment on static and dynamic strength properties of resulting paper sheets. Paper which was formed in water, being the solvent of the highest dipole moment among the tested ones, showed the highest breaking length and tear resistance. When paper webs were formed in n-butanol, which was the least polar among the solvents, these parameters were reduced by around 75%. These results provide evidence of the importance of water in paper web formation and strong impact of hydrogen bonds between fibres on strength properties of paper.

The continuing increase of interest in ionic liquids prompts us to search both for new compounds and for their new potential application. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of ionic liquids (ILs) on the cellulose product, paper. In the studies, commercially available 3-alkyl-1-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborates and prepared 3-alkoxymethyl-1-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborates and 3-alkoxymethyl-1-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imides were used. Obtained salts with bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide anion are new compounds. ILs were found to impregnate paper, affecting its strength and other physical parameters. Various properties of paper were distinctly altered after treatment with ILs of varying anions. In general, IL-treated paper had decreased strength, which resulted from weakening of cellulose hydrogen bonds. On the other hand, paper wettability improved. Paper treated with 1-methyl-3-octyloxymethylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate proved to be fully resistant to activ...