Cellulose powder and cellulose pellets obtained by pressing the microcrystalline powder were studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), differential thermal analysis (DTA), and thermal gravimetry (TG). The TG method enabled the assessment of water content in the investigated samples. The glass phase transition in cellulose was studied using the DSC method, both in heating and cooling runs, in a wide temperature range from -100 to 180°C. It is shown that the DSC cooling runs are more suitable for the glass phase transition visualisation than the heating runs. The discrepancy between glass phase transition temperature T g found using DSC and predictions by Kaelbe's approach are observed for ''dry'' (7 and 5.3% water content) cellulose. This could be explained by strong interactions between cellulose chains appearing when the water concentration decreases. The T g measurements vs. moisture content may be used for cellulose crystallinity index determination.

Field Cycling Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (FC NMR) relaxation studies are reported for three ionic liquids: 1-ethyl-3- methylimidazolium thiocyanate (EMIM-SCN, 220-258 K), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BMIM-BF4, 243-318 K), and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (BMIM-PF6, 258-323 K). The dispersion of (1)H spin-lattice relaxation rate R1(ω) is measured in the frequency range of 10 kHz-20 MHz, and the studies are complemented by (19)F spin-lattice relaxation measurements on BMIM-PF6 in the corresponding frequency range. From the (1)H relaxation results self-diffusion coefficients for the cation in EMIM-SCN, BMIM-BF4, and BMIM-PF6 are determined. This is done by performing an analysis considering all relevant intra- and intermolecular relaxation contributions to the (1)H spin-lattice relaxation as well as by benefiting from the universal low-frequency dispersion law characteristic of Fickian diffusion which yields, at low frequencies, a linear dependence of R1 on square root of frequency. From the (19)F relaxation both anion and cation diffusion coefficients are determined for BMIM-PF6. The diffusion coefficients obtained from FC NMR relaxometry are in good agreement with results reported from pulsed- field-gradient NMR. This shows that NMR relaxometry can be considered as an alternative route of determining diffusion coefficients of both cations and anions in ionic liquids.

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