Is there no limit to what ionic liquids can do? They can help us make almost anything out of cellulose – in an efficient and environmentally friendly way. Ilkka Kilpelainen, professor of organic chemistry at the University of Helsinki, has stuck two square pieces of wood. Had they been glued together, we would have been able to smell it. But these pieces had been attached without glue, with the help of ionic liquids developed by Kilpelainen’s research group on the Kumpula Campus. “There’s no join between the pieces, they have become part of each other. Under a microscope, the cross section of the point where the two pieces meet just looks like an annual growth ring,” said Kilpelainen.
Cellulose Beads
Researchers on the Kumpula Campus are examining possibilities to replace the microplastics in shower gels, toothpastes and face washes with biodegradable cellulose beads that would be equally effective. Microplastics are a scourge upon our waterways and demand for a biodegradable alternative is high. For his master’s thesis, Matti Leskinen started to use ionic liquids to manufacture cellulose particles of varying sizes as candidates for replacing plastic microbeads.
“The project got off to a good start, and we started seeing one interesting new product after another, almost like on a conveyor belt,” explained Leskinen.
The different types of cellulose beads already fill several hundred sample jars. Some have been coloured with food dyes, while others contain magnetite dusts which makes the beads magnetic. By using different manufacturing and drying methods, the researchers can use cellulose to produce beads with densities ranging from 0.04 to 1.3 grams per square centimetre.
What Is An Ionic Liquid?
One of the experiments at the organic chemistry laboratory has to do with using ionic liquids and cellulose in 3D printing. In principle, it should be possible to replace plastic with cellulose in almost all cases. Ionic liquids, or ionic solvents, are salts that dissolve at temperatures under 100 centigrade, and have been known in chemistry for more than a century. Initially, ionic liquids were considered unimportant as chemists were unable to make them crystallise.
Is there no limit to what ionic liquids can do? They can help us make almost anything out of cellulose – in an efficient and environmentally friendly way. Ilkka Kilpelainen, professor of organic chemistry at the University of Helsinki, has stuck two square pieces of wood. Had they been glued together, we would have been able to smell it. But these pieces had been attached without glue, with the help of ionic liquids developed by Kilpelainen’s research group on the Kumpula Campus. “There’s no join between the pieces, they have become part of each other. Under a microscope, the cross section of the point where the two pieces meet just looks like an annual growth ring,” said Kilpelainen.
Cellulose Beads
Researchers on the Kumpula Campus are examining possibilities to replace the microplastics in shower gels, toothpastes and face washes with biodegradable cellulose beads that would be equally effective. Microplastics are a scourge upon our waterways and demand for a biodegradable alternative is high. For his master’s thesis, Matti Leskinen started to use ionic liquids to manufacture cellulose particles of varying sizes as candidates for replacing plastic microbeads.
“The project got off to a good start, and we started seeing one interesting new product after another, almost like on a conveyor belt,” explained Leskinen.
The different types of cellulose beads already fill several hundred sample jars. Some have been coloured with food dyes, while others contain magnetite dusts which makes the beads magnetic. By using different manufacturing and drying methods, the researchers can use cellulose to produce beads with densities ranging from 0.04 to 1.3 grams per square centimetre.
What Is An Ionic Liquid?
One of the experiments at the organic chemistry laboratory has to do with using ionic liquids and cellulose in 3D printing. In principle, it should be possible to replace plastic with cellulose in almost all cases. Ionic liquids, or ionic solvents, are salts that dissolve at temperatures under 100 centigrade, and have been known in chemistry for more than a century. Initially, ionic liquids were considered unimportant as chemists were unable to make them crystallise.
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