Ionic Liquid-regenerated Cellulose Fiber: A Promising Next Generation Regenerated Cellulose Fiber

Xin-Yu Wang; Kun-Kun Zhu; Min Zhang; Yong-Xin Wei; Jing-Jing Yuan; Jin-Ming Zhang; Jin-Feng Wang; Jun Zhang

doi:10.1007/s10118-025-3465-9

Your Location：

Home >

Browse articles >

Ionic Liquid-regenerated Cellulose Fiber: A Promising Next Generation Regenerated Cellulose Fiber

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2026-01-13

- Ionic Liquid-regenerated Cellulose Fiber: A Promising Next Generation Regenerated Cellulose Fiber
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 44, Issue 1, Pages: 21-29(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  a.National Local Joint Laboratory for Advanced Textile Processing and Clean Production, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan 430200, China
  b.State Key Laboratory of New Textile Materials and Advanced Processing, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan 430200, China
  c.CAS Key Laboratory of Engineering Plastics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing 100190, China
- Author bio：
  
  kkzhu@wtu.edu.cn (K.K.Z.)
  zhjm@iccas.ac.cn (J.M.Z.)
  jinfeng.wang@wtu.edu.cn (J.F.W.)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-025-3465-9
  CLC：
- Received：09 September 2025，
  
  Accepted：27 September 2025，
  
  Online First：17 December 2025，
  
  Published：15 January 2026
- Accepted：
Scan QR Code
Wang, X. Y.; Zhu, K. K.; Zhang, M.; Wei, Y. X.; Yuan, J. J.; Zhang, J. M.; Wang, J. F.; Zhang, J. Ionic liquid-regenerated cellulose fiber: a promising next generation regenerated cellulose fiber. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 21–29

Xin-Yu Wang, Kun-Kun Zhu, Min Zhang, et al. Ionic Liquid-regenerated Cellulose Fiber: A Promising Next Generation Regenerated Cellulose Fiber[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(1): 21-29.
Wang, X. Y.; Zhu, K. K.; Zhang, M.; Wei, Y. X.; Yuan, J. J.; Zhang, J. M.; Wang, J. F.; Zhang, J. Ionic liquid-regenerated cellulose fiber: a promising next generation regenerated cellulose fiber. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 21–29 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3465-9.

Xin-Yu Wang, Kun-Kun Zhu, Min Zhang, et al. Ionic Liquid-regenerated Cellulose Fiber: A Promising Next Generation Regenerated Cellulose Fiber[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(1): 21-29. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3465-9.

摘要

Ionic liquid (IL)-made regenerated cellulose fibers show smooth surface

circular cross-section

highest tensile strength

moderate dyeing/fibrillation

good spinning/weaving

guiding their commercial use.

Abstract

As the global textile industry has accelerated its transition to a circular economy

iterative innovation in regenerated cellulose fibers has become a key industry focus. With viscose fiber having been industrialized for over a century and lyocell fiber gaining market recognition because of its environmentally friendly process

which is the next regenerated cellulose fiber. Herein

ionic liquids with low vapor pressure

nonflammability

relatively simple recovery

and high dissolution efficiency were used to fabricate regenerated cellulose fibers. The viscose and lyocell properties of the fibers were systematically compared

including microscopic morphology

dyeing behavior

fibrillation resistance

mechanical properties

yarn-forming capacity

and fabric performance. The ionic liquid (IL) fiber exhibited a smooth surface and circular cross-section

with the highest tensile strength

moderate dyeing and fibrillation properties

and similar spinning and weaving performance. This work can provide a reference for the commercial application of regenerated cellulose fibers fabricated from ionic liquid.

关键词

Keywords

references

[Gupta, N.; Cheung, H.; Payra, S.; Loke, G.; Li, J.; Zhao, Y.; Balachander, L.; Son, E.; Li, V.; Kravitz, S. A single-fibre computer enables textile networks and distributed inference. Nature 2025, 1-8..

Zhu, K.; Liang, Y.; Yuan, J.; Yu, H.; Jiang, L.; Wang, J.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, J.; Song, D.; Xia, L.; Zhang, X.; Xu, W. Flexible cement fibers with high toughness and water-activated setting behavior for construction. Nat. Commun. 2025 , 16 , 6529..

Wang, C.; Zhang, Y.; Liao, M.; Li, P.; Ma, L.; Yao, H.; Qu, J.; Zhang, K.; Li, C.; Song, T.; Yang, Z.; Gong, X.; Jiang, H.; Tang, C.; Feng, J.; Cheng, X.; Jiang, Y.; Ye, L.; Li, W.; Chao, D.; Peng, H.; Wang, B. A novel coating-extrusion method enabled, high energy, power density, and scalable production in monolithically integrated energy storage fibers. Adv. Mater. 2025 , 37 , 2417662..

De Silva, R.; Wang, X.; Byrne, N. Development of a novel cellulose/duck feather composite fibre regenerated in ionic liquid. Carbohydr. Polym. 2016 , 153 , 115−123..

Zhu, K.; Tu, H.; Yang, P.; Qiu, C.; Zhang, D.; Lu, A.; Luo, L.; Chen, F.; Liu, X.; Chen, L.; Fu, Q.; Zhang, L. Mechanically strong chitin fibers with nanofibril structure, biocompatibility and biodegradability. Chem. Mater. 2019 , 31 , 2078−2087..

Zhu, K.; Yuan, J.; Zhu, X.; Li, Z.; Ali, S.; Zhang, J.; Shi, S.; Hu, J.; Li, Y.; Wang, J.; Zhang, J.; Xu, W. Easy-iron fabrics from polysaccharide shape memory fiber. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 2024 , 12 , 11435−11443..

Yuan, J.; Wang, X.; Zhang, J.; Wei, Y.; Wang, X.; Wang, J.; Zhang, J.; Zhu, K.; Xu, W. Moisture-induced self-strengthening cellulose fibers for textile applications in a high humidity environment. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 2025 , 13 , 13583−13593..

Zhu, K.; Qiu, C.; Lu, A.; Luo, L.; Guo, J.; Cong, H.; Chen, F.; Liu, X.; Zhang, X.; Wang, H.; Cai, J.; Fu, Q.; Zhang, L. Mechanically strong multifilament fibers spun from cellulose solution via inducing formation of nanofibers. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 2018 , 6 , 5314−5321..

Azimi, B.; Maleki, H.; Gigante, V.; Bagherzadeh, R.; Mezzetta, A.; Milazzo, M.; Guazzelli, L.; Cinelli, P.; Lazzeri, A.; Danti, S. Cellulose-based fiber spinning processes using ionic liquids. Cellulose 2022 , 29 , 3079−3129..

[Shen, H.; Sun, T.; Zhou, J. Recent progress in regenerated cellulose fibers by wet spinning. Macromol. Mater. Eng. 2023 , 308 , 2300089..

Swatloski, R. P.; Spear, S. K.; Holbrey, J. D.; Rogers, R. D. Dissolution of cellose with ionic liquids. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002 , 124 , 4974−4975..

[Zhang, H.; Wu, J.; Zhang, J.; He, J. 1-Allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride room temperature ionic liquid: a new and powerful nonderivatizing solvent for cellulose. Macromolecules 2005, 38 , 8272-8277..

Zhang, J.; Luo, N.; Wan, J.; Xia, G.; Yu, J.; He, J.; Zhang, J. Directly converting agricultural straw into all-biomass nanocomposite films reinforced with additional in situ-retained cellulose nanocrystals. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 2017 , 5 , 5127−5133..

Li, J.; Zhang, X.; Zhang, J.; Mi, Q.; Jia, F.; Wu, J.; Yu, J.; Zhang, J. Direct and complete utilization of agricultural straw to fabricate all-biomass films with high-strength, high-haze and uv-shielding properties. Carbohydr. Polym. 2019 , 223 , 115057..

Ma, Y.; Zeng, B.; Wang, X.; Byrne, N. Circular textiles: closed loop fiber to fiber wet spun process for recycling cotton from denim. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 2019 , 7 , 11937−11943..

Zhang, S.; Chen, C.; Duan, C.; Hu, H.; Li, H.; Li, J.; Liu, Y.; Ma, X.; Stavik, J.; Ni, Y. Regenerated cellulose by the lyocell process, a brief review of the process and properties. BioResources 2018 , 13 , 4577−4592..

Zhou, J.; Sui, H.; Jia, Z.; Yang, Z.; He, L.; Li, X. Recovery and purification of ionic liquids from solutions: a review. RSC Adv. 2018 , 8 , 32832−32864..

Cai, J.; Zhang, L.; Zhou, J.; Li, H.; Chen, H.; Jin, H. Novel fibers prepared from cellulose in naoh/urea aqueous solution. Macromol. Rapid Commun. 2004 , 25 , 1558−1562..

[A, Z. Fundamentals of fiber formation interscience. New York 1976 ..

Zou, J.; Wang, Y.; Yu, X.; Liu, R.; Fan, W.; Cheng, J.; Cai, W. Skin-Inspired zero carbon heat-moisture management based on shape memory smart fabric. Adv. Fiber Mater. 2025 , 7 , 481−500..

Liu, X.; Zhu, X.; Peng, J.; Song, D.; Xu, W.; Zhu, K. Fabrication and characterization of chemical crosslinked cellulose fiber by dissolving cellulose in alkali urea aqueous solvent. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2023 , 140 , e53533..

Wang, L.; Xie, B.; Hu, H.; Bai, G.; He, Z.; Huang, Y.; Liu, L.; Meng, C. Regulating the surface charge and reactivity of cellulose through quaternized modification to achieve salt-free reactive dyeing process. Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 2024 , 281 , 135898..

Moriam, K.; Sawada, D.; Nieminen, K.; Hummel, M.; Ma, Y.; Rissanen, M.; Sixta, H. Towards regenerated cellulose fibers with high toughness. Cellulose 2021 , 28 , 9547−9566..

[Par ajuli, P.; Acharya, S.; Rumi, S. S.; Hossain, M. T.; Abidi, N., 4 - regenerated cellulose in textiles: rayon, lyocell, modal and other fibres. In Fundamentals of Natural Fibres and Textiles , Mondal, M. I. H., Ed. Woodhead Publishing, 2021 ; pp. 87−110..

Zhang, W.; Okubayashi, S.; Bechtold, T. Fibrillation tendency of cellulosic fibers. Part 1: Effects of Swelling. Cellulose 2005 , 12 , 267−273..

Shen, D.; Chen, L.; Wu, S.; Chen, K.; Qi, D.; Zhu, S. Fibrillation in cellulose-based lyocell: chemical insights, engineering solutions and emerging challenges. Carbohydr. Polym. 2025 , 363 , 123722..

Renfrew, A.; Phillips, D. Protection of lyocell fibres against fibrillation; mode of action of the cross-linking agent 2, 4-dichloro-6-(β-sulphatoethylsulphonyl) anilino-s-triazine. Color. Technol. 2003 , 119 , 116−120..

Zhu, K.; Wang, Y.; Lu, A.; Fu, Q.; Hu, J.; Zhang, L. Cellulose/chitosan composite multifilament fibers with two-switch shape memory performance. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 2019 , 7 , 6981−6990..

Yin, R.; Tao, X. M.; Xu, B. G. Mathematical modeling of Yarn dynamics in a generalized twisting system. Sci. Rep. 2016 , 6 , 24432..

Zhang, X.; Wang, F.; Guo, H.; Sun, F.; Li, X.; Zhang, C.; Yu, C.; Qin, X. Advanced cooling textiles: mechanisms, applications, and perspectives. Adv. Sci. 2024 , 11 , 2305228..

Views

122

Downloads

CSCD

Alert me when the article has been cited

Submit

Tools

Publicity Resources

Biodegradable Alginate-based Fibers with High Mechanical Performance and Aqueous Stability via Stretch-mediated Network Engineering

Recyclable and Easy-to-apply Amidoxime Functionalized Cellulose for Continuous Removal of Iron Ions from Shipwreck Woods

Multifunctional Property Enhancement of 2-Acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic Acid/Acrylic Acid Hydrogels with Dual-ionic Liquid Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes

Phase Separation Enabled Functional Ionogels

Plasticizing and Strengthening Poly(vinyl chloride) with Structurally Different Ionic Liquids

Related Author

Han-Xu Zhou

Ling-Chun Liu

De-Shuai Kong

Hua Yuan

Cong Du

Ting-Ting Zhang

Hong-Ying Zhang

Hong-Liang Kang

Related Institution

Shandong Key Laboratory of Renewable Membrane Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University

University of Chinese Academy of Sciences

School of Conservation Science & Technology for Cultural Heritage, Key Laboratory of Materials and Technology for Unearthed Cultural Heritage Conservation, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology

China Academy of Cultural Heritage

Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Beijing National Laboratory of Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences

⁰