Green solvents from ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents to natural deep eutectic solvents

Natural deep eutectic solvents (NADESs) are defined as mixtures of certain molar ratios of natural compounds such as sugars, organic acids, amino acids, and organic bases that are abundant in organisms. The melting points of these mixtures are considerably lower than those of their individual ingredients and far below ambient temperature. The first publications on the NADES concept in 2011 created a great expectation regarding their potential as green solvents that could replace conventional organic solvents in a wide range of applications. This was largely because many of the drawbacks of conventional synthetic ionic liquids (ILs) and deep eutectic solvents (DESs), particularly their toxicity and environmental hazards, could be solved using NADESs. Throughout the last 7 years, the interest in NADESs has increased enormously as reflected by the exponential growth of the number of related publications. The research on NADESs has rapidly expanded particularly into the evaluation of the feasibility of their application in diverse fields such as the extraction of (targeted) bioactive compounds from natural sources, as media for enzymatic or chemical reactions, preservatives of labile compounds, or as vehicles of non–water-soluble compounds for pharmaceutical purposes. Along with the exploration of these potential applications, there have been a large number of other studies related to their physicochemical features, the search for new NADESs, the research into the interactions between NADES components or with solutes, the recovery of solutes from NADES solutions, and the ways of circumventing inherent problems of NADESs such as their high viscosity and the consequent difficulties in handling them. This article contains a review of the applications of NADESs as extraction solvents, reaction media, and preservative, providing also a perspective of their future.     

Hydrolase-catalyzed biotransformations in deep eutectic solvents

Hydrolases show good catalytic activity in deep eutectic solvents, despite the presence of urea, which can denature enzymes, or alcohols, which can interfere with hydrolase-catalyzed reactions.     

Thermal conductivity of deep eutectic solvents

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - We have reported the thermal conductivities of three deep eutectic solvents (DESs). We have used choline chloride, N,N-diethyl ethanol ammonium...     

Sustainable biorefinery processes using renewable deep eutectic solvents

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Responsive switchable deep eutectic solvents: A review

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have drawn considerable attention as a new type of green solvent since they were reported. Subsequent studies have shown that DESs have the potential to be used as “designable” solvents, which means that the precursors of DESs with different structures and properties can be screened to customize DESs for specific functions. Researchers have found that during the sample preparation process involving DESs, the specific properties of some “smart” DESs can be switched by directing external driving forces, leading to a reversible phase transition of the target solution. These "smart" DESs are called switchable deep eutectic solvents (SDESs). The advent of SDES simplifies the sample pretreatment steps, reduces the use of organic solvents, and makes solvents easy to recycle, which matches the concept of green and sustainable chemistry. Compared with the number of previous experimental studies, the reviews and summaries on SDESs are rare. Therefore, this review made a summary of the concept and research progress of SDESs based on some related works in the past decade, including composition and type, characterization, switching mechanism, etc. It is expected to provide a certain reference and guidance for the subsequent in-depth research of SDESs in the analytical sample pretreatment.     

Development of deep eutectic solvents applied in extraction and separation

Deep eutectic solvents, as an alternative to ionic liquids, have greener credentials than ionic liquids, and have attracted considerable attention in related chemical research. Deep eutectic solvents have attracted increasing attention in chemistry for the extraction and separation of various target compounds from natural products. This review highlights the preparation of deep eutectic solvents, unique properties of deep eutectic solvents, and synthesis of deep‐eutectic‐solvent‐based materials. On the other hand, application in the extraction and separation of deep eutectic solvents is also included in this report. In this paper, the available data and references in this field are reviewed to summarize the applications and developments of deep eutectic solvents. Based on the development of deep eutectic solvents, an exploitation of new deep eutectic solvents and deep eutectic solvents‐based materials is expected to diversify into extraction and separation.     

Double layer effects on metal nucleation in deep eutectic solvents

The electrodeposition of zinc has been studied in two deep eutectic solvents. Unlike the metals studied to date in these liquids, zinc electrodeposition is not mass transport limited and the morphology of the deposit differs in the two liquids. This study shows that changing the concentration of solute affects the physical properties of the liquid to different extents although this is found to not effect the morphology of the metal deposited. EXAFS was used to show that the speciation of zinc was the same in both liquids. Double layer capacitance studies showed differences between the two liquids and these are proposed to be due to the adsorption of a species on the electrode which is thought to be chloride. The differences in zinc morphology is attributed to blocking of certain crystal faces leading to deposition of small platelet shaped crystals in the glycol based liquid.     

The electrodeposition of silver composites using deep eutectic solvents

Silver is an important metal for electronic connectors, however, it is extremely soft and wear can be a significant issue. This paper describes how improved wear resistant silver coatings can be obtained from the electrolytic deposition of silver from a solution of AgCl in an ethylene glycol/choline chloride based Deep Eutectic Solvent. An up to 10-fold decrease in the wear volume is observed by the incorporation of SiC or Al(2)O(3) particles. The work also addresses the fundamental aspect of speciation of silver chloride in solution using EXAFS to probe solution structure. The size but not the nature of the composite particles is seen to change the morphology and grain size of the silver deposit. Grain sizes are shown to be consistent with previous nucleation studies. The addition of LiF is found to significantly affect the deposit morphology and improve wear resistance.     

Type V deep eutectic solvents: Design and applications

Type V deep eutectic solvents are a novel class of sustainable solvents. They are prepared by physically mixing solid, non-ionic components and are characterized by strong negative deviations from thermodynamic ideality. This work provides guidelines for the rational design of these solvents and reviews some of their recent applications. Emphasis is given on the choice of hydrogen bond donors and acceptors to achieve the necessary liquid phase non-ideality, namely on the use of pairs of molecules with high polarity asymmetry, and stresses the importance of assessing their solid–liquid phase diagrams. Polymorphism and cocrystal formation are also briefly addressed, together with predictive methodologies that have been developed to estimate their properties.     

Synthesis and characterization of novel ternary deep eutectic solvents简

A series of room-temperature ternary deep eutectic solvents(TDESs) were prepared from imidazolium halides, zinc halides and amides. The [BMIM]Cl–ZnCl2 –acetamide(1:1:1) system shows the lowest freezing point( 60 8C) and lowest density in the series. The viscosity and conductivity of TDESs have an exponential relationship with temperature and can be fitted by Arrhenius equation.     

Development and applications of deep eutectic solvents in different chromatographic techniques

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) being inexpensive, easy to prepare, biocompatible, biodegradable and environmentally benign have...     

The electrochemical stability of ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents

Room temperature ionic liquids (ILs) composed of cations and anions, as well as deep eutectic solvents (DESs) composed of hydrogen bond donors (HBDs) and hydrogen bond acceptors (HBAs), are regarded as green solvents due to their low volatility. They have been used widely for electrochemically driven reactions because they exhibit high conductivity and excellent electrochemical stability. However, no systematic investigations on the electrochemical potential windows (EPWs), which could be used to characterize the electrochemical stability, have been reported. In this regard, the EPWs of 33 ILs and 23 DESs have been studied utilizing cyclic voltammetry (CV) method and the effects of structural factors (cations and anions of ILs, and HBDs and HBAs of DESs) and external factors (electrode, water content) on the EPWs have been comprehensively investigated. The electrochemical stability of selected ILs comprising five traditional cations, namely imidazolium, pyridinium, pyrrolidinium, piperidinium and ammonium and 13 kinds of versatile anions was studied. The results show that for ILs, both cation and anion play an important role on the reductive and oxidative potential limit. For a same IL at different working electrode, for example, glassy carbon (GC), gold (Au) and platinum (Pt) electrode, the largest potential window is almost observed on the GC working electrode. The investigations on the EPWs of choline chloride (ChCl), choline bromide (ChBr), choline iodide (ChI), and methyl urea based DESs show that the DES composed of ChCl and methyl urea has the largest potential window. This work may aid the selection of ILs or DESs for use as a direct electrolyte or a solvent in electrochemical applications.     

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.     

Potential use of deep eutectic solvents to facilitate lignocellulosic biomass utilization and conversion

High reliance on crude oil for energy consumption results in the urgent need to explore and develop alternative renewable sources. One of the most promising routes is the transformation of biomass into biofuels and chemicals. The introduction of deep eutectic solvents in 2004 received a considerable amount of attention across different research fields, particularly in biomass processing. The effectiveness of deep eutectic solvents in breaking down the recalcitrant structure in biomass highlights its impact on the transformation of biomass into various value-added products. In addition, deep eutectic solvents are widely regarded as promising “green” solvents due to their low cost, low toxicity, and biodegradable properties. In this paper, some background information on lignocellulosic biomass and deep eutectic solvents is given. Furthermore, the roles of deep eutectic solvents in biomass processing are discussed, focusing on the impacts of deep eutectic solvents on the selectivity of chemical processes and dissolution of biomass. This review also highlights the advantages and limitations of deep eutectic solvents associated with their usage in biomass valorization.     

Highly sensitive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) modified electrodes by electropolymerisation in deep eutectic solvents

Deep eutectic solvents are evaluated as media for the electropolymerisation of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) for the first time. PEDOT modified glassy carbon electrodes (GCEs) were characterised by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. PEDOT modified GCEs prepared from choline chloride–urea (reline) and choline chloride–ethylene glycol (ethaline) exhibited interesting electrocatalytic and morphological characteristics. Fixed potential sensing of ascorbate at 0.0 V showed a greater electrocatalytic effect, significantly higher sensitivity and lower detection limit than at hitherto reported PEDOT modified electrodes.     

Sustainable stabilization of oil in water emulsions by cellulose nanocrystals synthesized from deep eutectic solvents

There is an urgent global need to develop novel types of environmentally safe dispersing chemicals from renewable resources in order to reduce the environmental impact of oil spills. For this goal, cellulose, the most abundant natural polymeric source, is a promising green, nontoxic alternative that could replace the current synthetic surfactants. In this study, cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) synthesized using a deep eutectic solvent (DES) and two commercially available cellulose nanocrystals were used as marine diesel oil–water Pickering emulsion stabilizers. In particular, oil in water (o/w) emulsion formation and stability of emulsified oil during storing were addressed using a laser diffraction particle size analyzer, image analysis, and oil emulsion volume examination. The particle size of the o/w reference without CNCs after dispersing was over 50 µm and coalescence occurred only a few minutes after the emulsifying mixing procedure. All three investigated CNCs were effective stabilizers for the o/w system (oil droplets size under 10 µm) by preventing the oil droplet coalescence over time (6 weeks) and resulting in a stable creaming layer. The CNCs prepared using green DES systems boasted performance comparable to that of commercial CNCs, and they showed effectiveness at 0.1% dispersant dosage.     

Synthesis of novel lidocaine-releasing poly(diol-co-citrate) elastomers by using deep eutectic solvents

Poly(octanediol-co-citrate) elastomers containing high loading of lidocaine were synthesized at temperatures below 100 °C by means of using deep eutectic mixtures of 1,8-octanediol and lidocaine. The preservation of lidocaine integrity resulted in high-capacity drug-eluting elastomers.