Influence of the coagulation bath on the nanostructure of cellulose films regenerated from an ionic liquid solution

Cellulose membranes were prepared from an EMIMAc ionic liquid solution by nonsolvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) in coagulation baths of water–acetone mixtures, ethanol–water mixtures and water at different temperatures. High water volume fractions in the coagulation bath result in a highly reproducible gel-like structure with inhomogeneities observed by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). A structural transition of cellulose takes place in water–acetone baths at very low water volume fractions, while a higher water bath temperature increases the size of inhomogeneities in the gel-like structure. These findings demonstrate the value of SANS for characterising and understanding the structure of regenerated cellulose films in their wet state. Such insights can improve the engineering and structural tuning of cellulose membranes, either for direct use or as precursors for carbon molecular sieve membranes.