Ionic liquids (ILs) have been investigated to dissolve and/or pre-treat cellulose by combining with a low viscous co-solvent. Dissolution and pretreatment of cellulose by ILs are dynamic processes of dissolution and precipitation, which would caused the physical and chemical changes (such as crystallinity and thermal stability) of un-dissolved cellulose residues. Hence, this study focused on the thermal behavior of un-dissolved cellulose (PCEL) after pre-treatment using [BMIM]HSO4/ethanol. Ethanol was used as a green and cheap co-solvent of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate ([BMIM]HSO4) to pre-treat cellulose under different conditions. The pretreatment effect on thermal behavior of PCEL was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis and the distributed activation energy model. [BMIM]HSO4/ethanol pretreatment efficiently lowered the thermal stability of cellulose, and promoted the thermal decomposition at low temperature. The thermal behavior of PCEL can be adjusted by the [BMIM]HSO4 mass concentration.
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