Synthesis of cellulose dehydroabietate in ionic liquid [bmim]Br

A new type of cellulose derivative, cellulose dehydroabietate (CDA), was synthesized by the O-acylation reaction of cellulose with dehydroabietic acid chloride (DHAC) using ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([bmim]Br) as a solvent and 4-dimethyl-aminopyridine (DMAP) as a catalyst. The resulting CDA was characterized by means of FT-IR, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and elemental analysis. Also, some properties of CDA were determined. These results showed that CDA has better solubility, water-repellency, and resistance to acids and bases than raw cellulose, and these properties increase with the DS of CDA. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.