Preparation of cellulose-starch composite gel and fibrous material from a mixture of the polysaccharides in ionic liquid

This paper reports the preparation of a cell ulose-starch composite gel from an ionic liquid solution. The gel was obtained by keeping the homogeneous mixture of cellulose (10% w/w) and starch (5% w/w) in 1 butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (BMIMCI) for several days at room temperature and characterized by elemental analysis, X-ray diffraction, and thermal gravimetric analysis. Furthermore, the production of the fibrous material composed of cellulose and starch by reconstitution from the homogeneous mixture (10% w/w each) in BMIMCI is demonstrated. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.