低共熔溶剂的热稳定性研究

近年来，低共熔溶剂(DESs)引起了人们的广泛关注，在诸多领域得到应用。DESs一般由氢键供体(HBDs)和氢键受体(HBAs)通过氢键作用形成，其热稳定性研究对于其高温应用具有重要意义。本文利用热重分析法(TG)对40种DESs的热稳定性进行了系统研究，并得到了所研究DESs的开始分解温度(T_onset)。值得注意的是，DESs受热后的变化情况与离子液体不同，呈现出分阶段失重的现象。通常形成DESs的氢键在升温后首先被破坏，从而导致DESs分解成组成其的HBDs和HBAs。然后热稳定性较差(或者沸点较低)的HBDs首先分解(或挥发)，而HBAs则在更高温度下分解(或挥发)。例如常见的HBA氯化胆碱(ChCl)在250 ℃附近开始分解。氢键强度对DESs受热后的表现起着重要的作用，DESs中的氢键会阻碍分子“逃脱”，使得T_onset向高温方向移动。此外，我们考察了阴离子、氢键供体、摩尔比对DESs热稳定性的影响，发现HBDs自身的挥发或分解对DESs的热稳定性起着决定性作用。由于用T_onset值会高估DESs的热稳定性，长期热稳定性的考察对其工业应用具有重要价值。本研究能帮助人们理解DESs的热分解行为，为制备具有适当热稳定性的DESs提供依据。

Investigation on the Thermal Stability of Deep Eutectic Solvents

In recent years, deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have attracted considerable attention. They have been applied in many fields such as dissolution and separation, electrochemistry, materials preparation, reaction, and catalysis. The DESs are generally formed by the hydrogen bonding interactions between hydrogen-bond donors (HBDs) and acceptors (HBAs). Knowledge of the thermal stability of DESs is very important for their application at high temperatures. However, there have been relatively few studies on the thermal stability of DESs. Herein, a systematic investigation on the thermal stability of 40 DESs was carried out using thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and the onset decomposition temperatures (T_onset) of these solvents were obtained. The most important conclusion drawn from this work is that the thermal behavior of DESs is quite different from that of ionic liquids. The anions or cations of ionic liquids decompose first, followed by the decomposition of the opposite ion at elevated temperatures. On the other hand, the DESs generally first decompose to HBDs and HBAs at high temperatures through the weakening of the hydrogen bond interactions. Subsequently, the HBDs with relatively low boiling points or poor stabilities undergo volatilization or decomposition; the HBAs also undergo volatilization or decomposition but at a higher temperature. For example, the most commonly used HBA choline chloride (ChCl) begins to decompose at around 250 ℃. The hydrogen bond plays an important role in the thermal stability of DESs. It hinders the "escape" of molecules and requires greater energy to break than pure HBAs and HBDs, which causes the T_onset of DESs to shift to higher temperatures. Note that the thermal stability of HBDs has a crucial effect on the T_onset of DESs. The HBDs would decompose or volatilize first during TGA because of their relatively poor thermal stability or lower boiling points. The more stable the HBDs are, the greater would be the T_onset values of the corresponding DESs. Further, the effects of anions on HBAs, molar ratio of HBAs to HBDs, and heating rate in fast scan TGA have been discussed. As the heating rate increased, the TGA curves of DESs shifted to higher temperatures gradually, and the temperature hysteretic effect became prominent when the rate reached 10 ℃?min?1. From an industrial application point of view, there is an overestimation of the onset decomposition temperatures of DESs by T_onset, so the long-term stability of DESs was investigated at the end of the study. This study could help understand the thermal behavior of DESs (progressive decomposition) and provide guidance for designing DESs with appropriate thermal stability for practical applications.