Homogeneous esterification of poplar wood in an ionic liquid under mild conditions: characterization and properties

Wood meal was completely dissolved under constant conditions (130 °C, 6 h) in the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C4mim]Cl), and the various factors and potential mechanism of the homogeneous esterification of wood in this reaction medium were mainly studied. The physicochemical properties of the esterified wood were also investigated. It has been shown that highly substituted wood esters could be obtained by reacting wood dissolved in [C(4)mim]Cl with octanoyl chloride in the presence of triethylamine as a neutralizer. The weight percent gain was arranged from 121.5% to 297.4%. All reactions were performed under mild conditions, low excess of reagent, and a short reaction time compared to the heterogeneous chemical modification. Meanwhile, characterization of the derivatives confirmed that the homogeneous esterification was successfully processed. It was also found that thermal stability and morphological properties of the esterified wood were significantly different from those in previous reports. Octanoylation of wood meal in the [C(4)mim]Cl homogeneous system reduced the initial temperature of their thermal degradation and decreased the thermal stability compared to those in unmodified wood meal. Furthermore, the fibrillar appearance of wood meal changed into a relatively more homogeneous macrostructure of the esterfied wood. All these results suggested that homogeneous esterification of poplar wood in [C(4)mim]Cl would enhance the compatibility and improve the processability of wood with synthetic polymers.