Ionic liquids for the creation of new molecular synthesis
By combining ions, it is possible to obtain about a million different liquids. Such combinations of ionic liquids are suitable for the creation of new molecular syntheses in the pharmaceutical, beauty, textile and other industries.
New chemical bonds
By developing the research of ionic liquids, the researchers of the University of Latvia (LU) want to optimize the process efficiency indicators – the reaction result and energy consumption. It can also help achieve the results, creating less waste and saving time and resources.
The leading researcher of the University of Latvia, Eduards Baķis: “I work in sustainable chemistry, specifically with chemical solvents. A solvent is a liquid, that helps two reacting molecules to come into contact and to create new chemical bonds.”
Solvents for chemical industry
Unlike molecular solvents, ionic liquids are composed of ions that always come in pairs. It means, they can be combined in various ways to create around a million different liquids. In comparision, there are only between 200 and 600 molecular solvents in active use.
“We aim to optimise the effectiveness of this process, to improve the results of reactions, while reducing energy consumption, waste and time. Ionic liquids won’t take over anywhere, but the chemical industry is one of the fields with the highest solvent consumption”, – said leading researcher.
Binding to CO2
Researchers in university of Latvia want to find solvents that will make production more effective and more sustainable. This would involve synthesizing new molecules, be it medicines or componenets for sunscreen, or new polymeric materials for producing textiles. Cellulose fibers can come from sources other that cotton, they can be extracted from any biomass – from wood or grass.
“There is no unified process for producing cellulose from various sources to the same quality needed for producing textiles. ionic liquids have moved the needle so that cellulose and the aromatic compounds of various sources can now be processed into raw materials with a unified process”, note E.Bakis.
On her birthday, the Queen of Denmark wore a dress that was made this way: instead of farmed cotton, the threads were sourced from wood by applying ionic liquid. Since ionic compounds are much less volatile, and their structures are extremely diverse, it is useful to study their sorption rate for various gasses. CO2 would be a prime candidate for an atmospheric gas to bind to. There is extensive work being done to study the structural and physical properties necessary for ionic compounds to be able to bind to CO2 and to extract it efficiently and store it.
