Colloidal systems of surface active ionic liquids and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose: physicochemical investigations and preparation of magnetic nano-composites.

The complexation of three surface active ionic liquids (SAILs): 1-methyl-3-dodecylimidazolium chloride, [C12mim][Cl], and its amide, 3-(2-(dodecylamino)-2-oxoethyl)-1-methyl-1H-imidazol-3-ium chloride, [C12Amim][Cl], and ester, 3-methyl-1-dodecyloxycarbonylmethylimidazolium chloride, [C12Emim][Cl], functionalized counterparts with sodium carboxymethylcellulose (NaCMC), has been investigated. The behaviour of colloidal systems comprising SAILs and NaCMC at the air-solution interface has been investigated using tensiometry. The formed colloids in the bulk have been characterized for their mobility, surface charge, shape, size and morphology along with their relative hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity and other thermodynamic parameters of interest in different concentration regimes of the SAILs. For this, various techniques such as conductivity, turbidity, dynamic light scattering, ζ-potential, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and fluorescence measurements have been employed. H-bonding prone SAILs, i.e. [C12Amim][Cl] and [C12Emim][Cl], are found to interact with NaCMC in a contrasting manner as compared to their non-functionalized counterpart. The formed complexes of SAILs and NaCMC have been explored for the one pot preparation of magnetic nano-composites by doping colloids of SAILs and NaCMC with zinc ferrite (ZnFe3O4) nano-particles. The prepared magnetic nano-composites are characterised using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). It is expected that the present work would offer a new colloidal route for the preparation of SAILs and biopolymer assisted nano-composites along with providing physical insights into the complexation phenomenon.