Ionic liquids and cellulose: Dissolution, chemical modification and preparation of new cellulosic materials

Abstract

Due to its abundance and a wide range of beneficial physical and chemical properties, cellulose has become very popular in order to produce materials for various applications. This review summarizes the recent advances in the development of new cellulose materials and technologies using ionic liquids. Dissolution of cellulose in ionic liquids has been used to develop new processing technologies, cellulose functionalization methods and new cellulose materials including blends, composites, fibers and ion gels. © 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.