http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1021/cr300162p

Deep Eutectic Solvents (DESs) and Their Applications

Within the framework of green chemistry, solvents occupy a strategic place. To be qualified as a green medium, these solvents have to meet different criteria such as availability, non-toxicity, biodegradability, recyclability, flammability, and low price among others. Up to now, the number of available green solvents are rather limited. Here we wish to discuss a new family of ionic fluids, so-called Deep Eutectic Solvents (DES), that are now rapidly emerging in the current literature. A DES is a fluid generally composed of two or three cheap and safe components that are capable of self-association, often through hydrogen bond interactions, to form a eutectic mixture with a melting point lower than that of each individual component. DESs are generally liquid at temperatures lower than 100 °C. These DESs exhibit similar physico-chemical properties to the traditionally used ionic liquids, while being much cheaper and environmentally friendlier. Owing to these remarkable advantages, DESs are now of growing interest in many fields of research. In this review, we report the major contributions of DESs in catalysis, organic synthesis, dissolution and extraction processes, electrochemistry and material chemistry. All works discussed in this review aim at demonstrating that DESs not only allow the design of eco-efficient processes but also open a straightforward access to new chemicals and materials.

Deep eutectic solvents: syntheses, properties and applications

Carbon-based structures are the most versatile materials used in the modern field of renewable energy (i.e., in both generation and storage) and environmental science (e.g., purification/remediation). However, there is a need and indeed a desire to develop increasingly more sustainable variants of classical carbon materials (e.g., activated carbons, carbon nanotubes, carbon aerogels, etc.), particularly when the whole life cycle is considered (i.e., from precursor "cradle" to "green" manufacturing and the product end-of-life "grave"). In this regard, and perhaps mimicking in some respects the natural carbon cycles/production, utilization of natural, abundant and more renewable precursors, coupled with simpler, lower energy synthetic processes which can contribute in part to the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions or the use of toxic elements, can be considered as crucial parameters in the development of sustainable materials manufacturing. Therefore, the synthesis and application of sustainable carbon materials are receiving increasing levels of interest, particularly as application benefits in the context of future energy/chemical industry are becoming recognized. This review will introduce to the reader the most recent and important progress regarding the production of sustainable carbon materials, whilst also highlighting their application in important environmental and energy related fields.

Sustainable carbon materials

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are an emerging class of mixtures characterized by significant depressions in melting points compared to those of the neat constituent components. These materials are promising for applications as inexpensive "designer" solvents exhibiting a host of tunable physicochemical properties. A detailed review of the current literature reveals the lack of predictive understanding of the microscopic mechanisms that govern the structure-property relationships in this class of solvents. Complex hydrogen bonding is postulated as the root cause of their melting point depressions and physicochemical properties; to understand these hydrogen bonded networks, it is imperative to study these systems as dynamic entities using both simulations and experiments. This review emphasizes recent research efforts in order to elucidate the next steps needed to develop a fundamental framework needed for a deeper understanding of DESs. It covers recent developments in DES research, frames outstanding scientific questions, and identifies promising research thrusts aligned with the advancement of the field toward predictive models and fundamental understanding of these solvents.

Deep Eutectic Solvents: A Review of Fundamentals and Applications.

Sustainable technologies applied to energy-related applications should develop a pivotal role in the next decades. In particular, carbon dioxide capture from flue gases emitted by fossil-fueled power plants should play a pivotal role in controlling and reducing the greenhouse effect. Therefore, the development of new materials for carbon capture purposes has merged as central research line, for which many alternatives have been proposed. Ionic liquids (ILs) have emerged as one of the most promising choices for carbon capture, but in spite of their promising properties, some serious drawbacks have also appeared. Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have recently been considered as alternatives to ILs that maintain most of their relevant properties, such as task-specific character, and at the same time avoid some of their problems, mainly from economic and environmental viewpoints. DES production from low-cost and natural sources, together with their almost null toxicity and total biodegradability, makes these sol...

Stephen J. Gray

Papers

Design of Improved Deep Eutectic Solvents Using Hole Theory

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of new tryptamine and tetrahydro-beta-carboline-based selective inhibitors of CDK4.

Highly efficient synthesis of DNA-binding hairpin polyamides via the use of a new triphosgene coupling strategy.