Developing nano-micro size chitosan beads using imidazolium-based ionic liquid: A perspective

The aggressive search for unique materials in recent years has put forward chitosan and modified-chitosan as materials with unique structural and morphological characteristics for various important applications. Just as imidazolium-based ionic liquids are the commonly applied ionic liquids (ILs) type for chitosan modifications for various applications, their further modifications into beads for enhancing their properties is now gaining most attention. However, most of the currently prepared imidazolium ILs modified-chitosan beads are not in nano size due to preparation difficulties. In response to this and referencing the research works in the literature, the possible breakthrough directions including synthesis routes, and physical and mechanical transformation processes are proposed. These procedures are expected to provide certain theoretical and empirical basis, as well as technical guide for developing nano-micro size chitosan beads using imidazolium based ILs.

Automated summary

The aggressive search for unique materials has identified chitosan and modified-chitosan as materials with unique characteristics for important applications. The modification of chitosan into imidazolium-based ionic liquids (ILs) for various applications is commonly applied, but the preparation of nano-sized imidazolium ILs modified-chitosan beads has been difficult. This study proposes breakthrough directions based on synthesis routes and physical and mechanical transformation processes to develop nano-micro size chitosan beads using imidazolium-based ILs.