Time-Temperature Superposition of the Dissolution of Wool Yarns in the Ionic Liquid 1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium Acetate

The dissolution of wool yarns in the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium acetate [C2mim][OAc] has been investigated. Wool yarns were submerged into [C2mim][OAc] and dissolved for various times and temperatures before coagulating with water. Optical microscopy was used to track the yarn's cross-sectional area. We propose that there are two competing dissolution processes, one rate-limited by disulfide bonds at low temperatures (LTs), and a second by hydrogen bonds at high temperatures (HTs), with a crossover point between the two regimes at 70 celcius. The corresponding activation energies were ELT = 127 +/- 9 kJ/mol and EHT = 34 +/- 1 kJ/mol. The remaining area of the dissolved wool yarn could be shifted via time-temperature superposition to plot a single master curve of area against time for both regions. Finally, the dissolution could be modelled by a diffusion process, giving self-diffusion coefficients for the [C2mim][OAc] ions (0.64-15.31 x 10-13 m2/s).