a We note that this table show yields of products either in mol% or in wt%; it is recommended to refer to the given references if the accurate evaluation of yields is sought. “—” = not specified; “0” = not detected, or detected in trace amounts; T, reaction temperature; t, reaction time; HMF, 5‐(hydroxymethyl)furfural; FF, furfural; MCC, microcrystalline cellulose; [C2mim]Cl, 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium chloride; [C2mim]OAc, 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium acetate; [C4mim]Cl, 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium chloride; [C4SO3Hmim]CH3SO3, 1‐(4‐sulfobutyl)‐3‐methylimidazolium methanesulfonate; ChCl, choline chloride; DMA, dimethylacetamide; EtOAc, ethyl acetate; and MIBK, methyl isobutyl ketone.
b The substrate was subjected to sulfuric acid‐assisted ball milling.
c ILs were diluted with water during processing to a total water up to 10–43 wt% based on the reaction system.
d t does not include the time for the dissolution of the substrate.
e Substrate was treated with aqueous sodium hydroxide.
The rates and (often) selectivities of the chemical process improve if the process can be performed under homogeneous conditions. As mentioned above, cellulosic materials are essentially insoluble in aqueous systems and most common organic solvents. However, ionic liquids (ILs) in their many manifestations are potentially key to improved chemical transformations of cellulosic materials. ILs are a class of green solvents that consist solely of ions and, under certain conditions, are able to fully dissolve cellulosic polysaccharides [48,60,61].
