Natural deep eutectic solvents as new potential media for green technology

Developing new green solvents is one of the key subjects in Green Chemistry. Ionic liquids (ILs) and deep eutectic solvents, thus, have been paid great attention to replace current harsh organic solvents and have been applied to many chemical processing such as extraction and synthesis. However, current ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents have still limitations to be applied to a real chemical industry due to toxicity against human and environment and high cost of ILs and solid state of most deep eutectic solvents at room temperature. Recently we discovered that many plant abundant primary metabolites changed their state from solid to liquid when they were mixed in proper ratio. This finding made us hypothesize that natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) play a role as alternative media to water in living organisms and tested a wide range of natural products, which resulted in discovery of over 100 NADES from nature. In order to prove deep eutectic feature the interaction between the molecules was investigated by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. All the tested NADES show clear hydrogen bonding between components. As next step physical properties of NADES such as water activity, density, viscosity, polarity and thermal properties were measured as well as the effect of water on the physical properties. In the last stage the novel NADES were applied to the solubilization of wide range of biomolecules such as non-water soluble bioactive natural products, gluten, starch, and DNA. In most cases the solubility of the biomolecules evaluated in this study was greatly higher than water. Based on the results the novel NADES may be expected as potential green solvents at room temperature in diverse fields of chemistry.     

聚离子液体材料在分离科学中的研究进展

离子液体作为新型离子化试剂,具有诸多优越的物理化学性质,比如:良好的溶解性、导电性、热稳定性、生物相容性及低蒸气压和不易燃等特点,近年来在分析化学领域得到广泛关注。聚离子液体材料结合了离子液体和聚合物的双重性质,已经成为分离科学研究的前沿领域。本文详细讨论了离子液体与目标物之间的多种作用机制,比如亲/疏水作用、氢键作用、离子交换、π - π 堆积及静电吸附作用等等,总结了聚离子液体材料在固相萃取、液相色谱、气相色谱、毛细管电泳及毛细管电色谱等领域的研究进展;最后,对聚离子液体材料的发展前景进行了展望。     

色谱最新研究亮点——新型功能化色谱分离介质的研究进展

整体柱由于具有制备方法简单、通透性好、柱容量大、易实现快速分离的优点,近年来在生物大分子的高效、快速、高通量分离分析方面得到了较快的发展。但是由于有机聚合物整体柱的表面积小（只有几十平米/g）,内部结构不均一,因此还存在分离小分子物质柱效低的缺点。最近,人们在努力寻求一种较为完美的低压高效的功能化色谱分离介质的制备方法,以期能够在大分子和小分子等多种物质的分离分析中得到普遍应用。     

Halogen bonding in polymer science: towards new smart materials

The halogen bond is a special non-covalent interaction, which can represent a powerful tool in supramolecular chemistry. Although the halogen bond offers several advantages compared to the related hydrogen bond, it is currently still underrepresented in polymer science. The structural related hydrogen bonding assumes a leading position in polymer materials containing supramolecular interactions, clearly indicating the high potential of using halogen bonding for the design of polymeric materials. The current developments regarding halogen bonding containing polymers include self-assembly, photo-responsive materials, self-healing materials and others. These aspects are highlighted in the present perspective. Furthermore, a perspective on the future of this rising young research field is provided.

The incorporation of halogen bonding into polymer architectures is a new approach for the design of functional materials. This perspective emphasizes the current development in the field of halogen bonding featuring polymer materials.     

Gas separation membranes: needs for combined materials science and processing approaches

Huge markets would exist for high volume gas separation membranes if more robust and higher selectivity membranes were economically available. Many of these markets include totally new paradigms, such as fuel cell driven vehicles and membrane reactors for hydrocarbon production. Other markets involve displacing entrenched large scale separations processes with more advanced versions of first generation “conventional” membranes. Existing materials and formation processes cannot exploit most of these opportunities, so basic research is needed. This research must occur with an awareness that competition to displace highly optimized conventional technologies such as absorption, cryogenic distillation and adsorption must consider economic as well as technical efficacy. Next generation membrane processes should, therefore, maintain attractive economics associated with current polymer-based membranes, while greatly extending performance properties. Several “contender” strategies based largely on polymers and specialized polymer processing approaches for achieving this ambitious goal will be considered in more detail.     

Copolymer solutions as separation media for DNA capillary electrophoresis

Capillary electrophoresis techniques offer high plate numbers and are highly suited for the efficient separations of a wide variety of chemical components in diverse matrices. Because of the small capillary and detection cell dimensions, together with the minute volumes of samples to be injected, sensitive detection schemes based on different physicochemical principles are being developed. One logical approach to increased sensitivity in capillary electrophoresis detection has been the development of chemiluminescence-based detectors. The development of on-line ultrasensitive chemiluminescence detection (referred to the concentration detection limit of nM order of magnitude or mass detection limit of amol order of magnitude) in capillary electrophoresis system is reviewed. The applications and limitations of the current detection methodology are briefly considered and future prospects for the development are discussed.     

Cellular and foamed plastics as separation media A new geometrical form of the solid phase in analytical liquid-solid contact

There has been considerable interest during the last few years in using cellular (foamed) plastics (mainly polyurethanes) either unloaded or as a means of immobilizing hydrophobic organic reagents, powdered ion-exchangers or finely divided precipitates, for the collection and separation of inorganic or organic species from aqueous solution. Foamed plastics with anchored (bonded) functional groups have also been used for the same purpose. It has been realized that the application of cellular plastics is often advantageous not only for quantitative work but also for qualitative and semiquantitative analysis. Methods available on the application of cellular and foamed plastics for the collection, separation and recovery of various inorganic and organic components from aqueous solution are reviewed.     

Recent development of monolithic materials as matrices in microcolumn separation systems

This review summarizes the development of monolithic materials, including both organic and inorganic polymers, according mainly to the papers published in the past two years. Due to their good permeability, fast mass transfer, high stability, and their ease of modification, such materials have been widely used in microcolumn separation systems, not only as stationary phases for CEC and capillary HPLC, but also as substances for sample concentration and enzyme reactor. All the research results demonstrate that monolithic materials in microseparation systems can be expected to play an increasingly important role in the analysis of complex samples.     

低碳烯烃高效分离新型多孔材料的研究进展

低碳烯烃(乙烯、丙烯等)作为石油化工的基本原料是现代化学工业的基石,也是我国国民经济发展的重要组成部分。然而,其生产过程常伴随着分离困难且能耗较高等问题。金属有机骨架(MOF)材料作为第三代新型多孔材料,因其具有高孔隙率、大比表面积、孔尺寸高度可调、结构多样等优点,在低碳烯烃分离领域表现出巨大的潜能。本文综述了MOF材料在低碳烯烃吸附分离领域的研究现状,包括MOF的分离机理和针对不同分离任务所采用的孔径调节、配体修饰、吸附位点构筑等策略,重点总结了本课题组近几年关于MOF在低碳烯烃分离方面取得的研究进展,并对未来的工业化应用进行了展望。     

Small-angle scattering in materials science

The use of small-angle scattering techniques in the study of inhomogeneities and microstructural changes in inorganic materials is reviewed with emphasis on X-ray scattering. Recent applications of anomalous scattering with synchrotron radiation and kinetic studies in amorphous and crystalline systems are stressed.     

Physicochemical analysis in materials science

The concepts of a substance, phase, component, and directed synthesis strategy are discussed. Attention is paid to nonstoichiometry and defect composition. The following features of P-T-x phase diagrams are considered: highest melting point of a nonstoichiometric compound (T _{m, AB}^max); noncoincidence between the solid-, liquid-, and vapor-phase compositions at this temperature; factors determining the nonstoichiometry range; and congruent and incongruent phases and phase processes. Principles of directed synthesis of chemical compounds and homogeneity criteria for the synthesized products are discussed.     

Metal 2-ethylhexanoates and related compounds as useful precursors in materials science

This critical review deals with the chemistry and applications of metal alkanoates with medium size (C5 to C12) carbon chain length. A particular emphasis is given to metal 2-ethylhexanoates, which find wide applications as metal-organic precursors in materials science, as catalysts for ring opening polymerizations and also in painting industries for their properties as driers. After a brief introduction and an overview of synthesis, structural and physico-chemical properties, this article discuses extensively the applications of these compounds in materials science. Finally, it identifies and signifies the areas for future research in the looking ahead section. The aim of this review is to bridge the areas of precursor's chemistry and materials science by providing a reference text for researchers working either in or at the interface of these two areas (125 references).