Properties of Cellulose Regenerated from Powerful 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium Acetate/Dimethyl Sulfoxide Solvent

1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium?acetate C₄mim]CH₃COO]/dimethyl sulfoxide/DMSO can effectively dissolve cellulose at ambient temperature without any heating. However, the thermostability, morphology, and structure of cellulose regenerated from the C₄mim]CH₃COO]/DMSO solvent is little known. Therefore, in this work, the regenerated cellulose was prepared and characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and the degree of polymerization (DP) measurements. The results indicated that the regenerated cellulose film displayed homogeneous structures; no chemical reaction occurred between cellulose and C₄mim]CH₃COO] as well as DMSO during the dissolution and precipitation processes. The regenerated cellulose had good thermal stability, similar to the original cellulose, and the macromolecular chains of cellulose were hardly broken during the dissolution and precipitation processes.