Homogeneous synthesis of hemicellulosic succinates with high degree of substitution in ionic liquid

Chemical modification is the most important means to obtain novel biopolymers and biomaterials from the abundant biomacromolecules. In this paper, hemicellulosic succinate, which is very important biomacromolecule for the preparation of functional materials, was homogeneously prepared in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([BMIM]Cl) ionic liquid. The influence of reaction conditions used in this work on the degree of substitution (DS) was investigated, and the chemical structure and the thermal stability of hemicellulosic succinate were characterized by FT-IR and C-13 NMR spectroscopies as well as thermogravimetry. A high DS of up to 1.80 could be achieved at short time scale in [BMIM]Cl ionic liquid without any catalysts, which is probably due to the excellent dissolving capacity and catalytic effect of ionic liquid. These results indicate that ionic liquids open up totally new opportunities for chemically functionalization of hemicelluloses. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.