Biopolymers are gaining attention as an untapped source of new polymers and chemicals.  The use of ionic liquids as a solvent, which does not decompose or derivatize the biopolymer, has increased the chemical potential of using biopolymers in processes and in new materials.  This research will investigate the use of biopolymers and ionic liquids to produce feedstock chemicals.  One of the unique characteristics of ionic liquids is the ability of incorporate functionality into the chemical structure.  In this study, a Br�nsted acid functionality is incorporated into the ionic liquid to produce an acid catalyst ionic liquid.  In this study, an ionic liquid solvent and acid catalyst ionic liquid will be used to depolymerize chitin into its monomer units, N-acetylglucosamine.  The effects of chain length of the catalyst will be investigated to determine its effect on the production of N-acetylglucosamine.  The products from the catalytic reaction will be analyzed by UV/Vis and HPLC with an evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD).

Effects of catalyst conformation on biopolymer processing

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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