In this study, a hydrophobic ionic liquid ([HOEMIm][NTf2])
was used to dissolve chicken feathers to obtain keratin. The aim
of our research work was to extract keratin with hydrophobic
ionic liquids instead of acids and bases. The effects of mass ratio
of feathers and ionic liquid, mass ratio of feathers and NaHSO3,reaction temperature and time on the extraction yield of keratin
were investigated and the reusability of ionic liquid was also studied.
Furthermore, the extracted keratin was analyzed by infrared
spectrometry (IR) to confirm its structure and determined by gel
permeation chromatography (GPC) to get its molecular weight.