Production of cellulose nanocrystals using Brønsted Acidic Ionic Liquids (BAILs), based on anionic clusters with changes in the cation and anion's structure.

Nine Brønsted Acid Ionic Liquids (BAILs) based on two cationic bases (1-methylimidazolium and pyridinium) and anions derived from sulfuric (SA) and phosphoric (PA) acids, were used as solvents and acid catalysts for the hydrolysis of commercial cellulose to obtain cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs). The BAILs' effect on the reactions was evaluated as a function of the acidity and polarity of the solvents, determined by the Hammett acidity parameter (H) (determined experimentally) and by the β parameter of the Kamlet-Taft analysis (determined computationally using COSMOS-RS). Under the same experimental conditions, the change of solvent not only affects the reaction yield of the CNCs but also the final characteristics of the nanomaterials obtained.

Examining the potential of type V DESs for the solvent extraction of metal ions.

Growing interest in sustainable and efficient metal ion separation has led to the exploration of non-ionic deep eutectic solvents (DESs), also known as type V DESs, as promising alternatives to conventional organic phases in solvent extraction (SX). This work summarizes recent developments, focusing solely on the use of non-ionic DESs and excluding ionic DESs, for the separation of metal ions from synthetic and real leachates. The review does not aim to exhaustively cover all studies but focuses on the molecular mechanisms of SX, how inherent properties of DESs influence these mechanisms, and how they can be harnessed to improve the separation selectivity.