Preparation of Chitin/Cellulose Films Compatibilized with Polymeric Ionic Liquids

This paper reports the preparation of chitin/cellulose films compatibilized with polymeric ionic liquids. In-situ (co)polymerization of polymerizable ionic liquids, 1-(3-methacryloyloxypropyl)-3-vinylimidazolium bromide (1) and 1-methyl-3-vinylbenzylimidazolium chloride (3), was carried out in the presence of a radical initiator, AIBN, in the chitin/cellulose solution with ionic liquid solvents (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate and chloride, BMIMOAc and BMIMCl, respectively), followed by the appropriate procedure to give the desired films. The presence of the polymeric ionic liquid in the film was confirmed by the IR measurement. The powder X-ray diffraction analysis suggested that crystalline structures of the polysaccharides were largely disrupted in the film, as same as that of a chitin/cellulose film prepared by the AMIMOAc/BMIMCl system. These results were different from the XRD result of a chitin/cellulose film prepared by the 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide/BMIMCl system reported in our previous study, in which some crystalline structures were still remained in the film. Furthermore, the mechanical properties of the present films were evaluated by tensile testing, which were affected by the molar ratios of the polymeric ionic liquids to the polysaccharides and the compositional ratios of the two units 1 and 3.