Quasi-Elastic Neutron Scattering on Bimodal Dynamics in Molecular Solutions of Cellulose

Published

June 23, 2025

Author(s)

Tao Xiong, Madhu Sudan Tyagi, Wei Zhou, Hongyu Guo, Robert Briber, Howard Wang

Abstract

Local dynamics in molecular solutions of cellulose have been studied using quasi-elastic neutron scattering on ternary mixtures of microcrystalline cellulose, ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium acetate and co-solvent dimethylformamide. Two distinct dynamic behaviors in solutions have been identified, with slow dynamics likely attributed to long-range translational diffusion and fast dynamics likely involving the motion of IL in nano-aggregates. The presence of cellulose suppresses both dynamic modes as the residence time for both slow and fast dynamics increases, while the radius of confinement remains invariant upon cellulose dissolution. Arrhenius activation behaviors are followed generally, the activation energy decreases for fast dynamics upon cellulose dissolution while shows no measurable change for slow ones. This study offers new information in dynamics of an important class of renewable biomaterials.

Citation

Journal of Physical Chemistry B

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

Ionic liquids, dynamics, neutron scattering

Citation

Xiong, T. , Tyagi, M. , Zhou, W. , Guo, H. , Briber, R. and Wang, H. (2025), Quasi-Elastic Neutron Scattering on Bimodal Dynamics in Molecular Solutions of Cellulose, Journal of Physical Chemistry B (Accessed September 30, 2025)