Ionic liquids as lubricants or lubrication additives: an ecotoxicity and biodegradability assessment

(Eco)toxicity and biodegradability of protic ionic liquids

Ionic liquids (ILs) are often claimed to be "environmentally friendly" compounds however, the knowledge of their potential toxicity towards different organisms and trophic levels is still limited, in particular when protic ionic liquids (PILs) are addressed. This study aims to evaluate the toxicity against various microorganisms and the biodegradability of four PILs namely, N-methyl-2-hydroxyethylammonium acetate, m-2-HEAA; N-methyl-2-hydroxyethylammonium propionate, m-2-HEAPr; N-methyl-2-hydroxyethylammonium butyrate, m-2-HEAB; and N-methyl-2-hydroxyethylammonium pentanoate, m-2-HEAP. The antimicrobial activity was determined against the two bacteria, Sthaplylococcus aureus ATCC-6533 and Escherichia coli CCT-0355; the yeast Candida albicans ATCC-76645; and the fungi Fusarium sp. LM03. The toxicity of all PILs was tested against the aquatic luminescent marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri using the Microtox(®) test. The impact of the PILs was also studied regarding their effect on lettuce seeds (Lactuta sativa). The biodegradability of these PILs was evaluated using the ratio between the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and the chemical oxygen demand (COD). The results show that, in general, the elongation of the alkyl chain tends to increase the negative impact of the PILs towards the organisms and biological systems under study. According to these results, m-2-HEAA and m-2-HEAP are the less and most toxic PILs studied in this work, respectively. Additionally, all the PILs have demonstrated low biodegradability.

Analysis of thermal stability and lubrication characteristics of Millettia pinnata oil

Lubricants are mostly used to reduce the friction and wear between sliding and metal contact surfaces, allowing them to move smoothly over each other.

Readily biodegradable and low-toxic biocompatible ionic liquids for cellulose processing

Ecotoxicity and biodegradability of ILs intended for cellulose processing were tested. Betaine-ester levulinate exhibits low environmental hazard potential (full degradability, low toxicity). Other ILs were partially degradable and moderately toxic.

Interspecies quantitative structure-toxicity-toxicity (QSTTR) relationship modeling of ionic liquids. Toxicity of ionic liquids to V. fischeri, D. magna and S. vacuolatus

Considering the increasing uses of ionic liquids (ILs) in various industrial processes and chemical engineering operations, a complete assessment of their hazardous profile is essential. In the absence of adequate experimental data, in silico modeling might be helpful in filling data gaps for the toxicity of ILs towards various ecological indicator organisms. Using the rationale of taxonomic relatedness, the development of predictive quantitative structure-toxicity-toxicity relationship (QSTTR) models allows predicting the toxicity of ILs to a particular species using available experimental toxicity data towards a different species. Such studies may employ, along with the available experimental toxicity data to a species, molecular structure features and physicochemical properties of chemicals as independent variables for prediction of the toxicity profile against another closely related species. A few such interspecies toxicity correlation models have been reported in the literature for diverse chemicals in general, but this approach has been rarely applied to the class of ionic liquids. The present study involves the use of IL toxicity data towards the bacteria Vibrio fischeri along with molecular structure derived information or computational descriptors like extended topochemical atom (ETA) indices, quantum topological molecular similarity (QTMS) descriptors and computed lipophilicity measure (logk0) for the interspecies exploration of the toxicity data towards green algae S. vacuolatus and crustacea Daphnia magna, separately. This modeling study has been performed in accordance with the OECD guidelines. Finally, predictions for a true external set have been performed to fill the data gap of toxicity towards daphnids and algae using the Vibrio toxicity data and molecular structure attributes.

Ionic liquid biodegradability depends on specific wastewater microbial consortia

Complete biodegradation of a newly-synthesized chemical in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) eliminates the potential for novel environmental pollutants. However, differences within- and between-WWTP microbial communities may alter expectations for biodegradation. WWTP communities can also serve as a source of unique consortia that, when enriched, can metabolize chemicals that tend to resist degradation, but are otherwise promising green alternatives. We tested the biodegradability of three ionic liquids (ILs): 1-octyl-3-methylpyridinium bromide (OMP), 1-butyl-3-methylpyridinium bromide (BMP) and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (BMIM). We performed tests using communities from two WWTPs at three time points. Site-specific and temporal variation both influenced community composition, which impacted the success of OMP biodegradability. Neither BMP nor BMIM degraded in any test, suggesting that these ILs are unlikely to be removed by traditional treatment. Following standard biodegradation assays, we enriched for three consortia that were capable of quickly degrading OMP, BMP and BMIM. Our results indicate WWTPs are not functionally redundant with regard to biodegradation of specific ionic liquids. However, consortia can be enriched to degrade chemicals that fail biodegradability assays. This information can be used to prepare pre-treatment procedures and prevent environmental release of novel pollutants.

Assessing the toxicity and biodegradability of deep eutectic solvents

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have emerged as a new type of promising ionic solvents with a broad range of potential applications. Although their ecotoxicological profile is still poorly known, DESs are generally regarded as "green" because they are composed of ammonium salts and H-bond donors (HBDs) which are considered to be eco-friendly. In this work, cholinium-based DESs comprised of choline chloride (ChCl) and choline acetate (ChAc) as the salt and urea (U), acetamide (A), glycerol (G) and ethylene glycol (EG) as the HBD were evaluated for their toxic effects on different living organisms such as Escherichia coli (a bacterium), Allium sativum (garlic, a plant) and hydra (an invertebrate), and their biodegradabilities were assessed by means of closed bottle tests. These DESs possessed an anti-bacterial property and exhibited inhibitory effects on the test organisms adopted, depending on the composition and concentration of the DES. The mechanism for the impact of DESs and their components on different living organisms can be associated to their interactions with the cellular membranes. Not all DESs can be considered readily biodegradable. By extending the limited knowledge about the toxicity and biodegradation of this particular solvent family, this investigation on DESs provides insight into our structure-based understanding of their ecotoxicological behavior.

Catalytically active perrhenate based ionic liquids: a preliminary ecotoxicity and biodegradability assessment

Recently it was shown that water and air stable perrhenate based ionic liquids (ILs) are promising catalysts for oxidation reactions.

Biodegradation of ionic liquids – a critical review

The importance of biodegradation data as part of the design of safer chemicals is presented using ionic liquids (ILs) as a model study.

Spectroscopic study of ionic liquid adsorption from solution onto gold

HMIM NTf₂ adsorbs on gold from ethanol to form a patchy bilayer. ‘Bound’ anion (filled anion) and ‘bound’ cation (filled blue) sit underneath a layer of cation (empty blue) and anion (empty orange). The IL regions are separated by oxidised gold (darker colour).

Evaluation of toxicity and biodegradability for cholinium-based deep eutectic solvents

The first study investigating the toxicity of cholinium-based DESs on freshwater fish or fungi and the biodegradability of EAC-based DESs.

Nitrogen-Containing Ionic Liquids: Biodegradation Studies and Utility in Base-Mediated Reactions

Several ionic liquids (ILs) were prepared in order to study the susceptibility of various cores and substituents to biodegradability using the ‘CO2 headspace’ test (ISO 14593). Several of the ILs contained tertiary amine substituents and were tested as solvents and reagents for several base mediated processes including Suzuki–Miyaura, Sonogashira, Knoevenagel, and Morita–Baylis–Hilman reactions. It was found that although these ILs contain basic functionality, they do not promote base mediated reactions. Density functional theory molecular calculations confirmed that the protonation of these ILs is energetically unfavourable.

Understanding the impact of the central atom on the ionic liquid behavior: phosphonium vs ammonium cations

The influence of the cation's central atom in the behavior of pairs of ammonium- and phosphonium-based ionic liquids was investigated through the measurement of densities, viscosities, melting temperatures, activity coefficients at infinite dilution, refractive indices, and toxicity against Vibrio fischeri. All the properties investigated are affected by the cation's central atom nature, with ammonium-based ionic liquids presenting higher densities, viscosities, melting temperatures, and enthalpies. Activity coefficients at infinite dilution show the ammonium-based ionic liquids to present slightly higher infinite dilution activity coefficients for non-polar solvents, becoming slightly lower for polar solvents, suggesting that the ammonium-based ionic liquids present somewhat higher polarities. In good agreement these compounds present lower toxicities than the phosphonium congeners. To explain this behavior quantum chemical gas phase DFT calculations were performed on isolated ion pairs at the BP-TZVP level of theory. Electronic density results were used to derive electrostatic potentials of the identified minimum conformers. Electrostatic potential-derived CHelpG and Natural Population Analysis charges show the P atom of the tetraalkylphosphonium-based ionic liquids cation to be more positively charged than the N atom in the tetraalkylammonium-based analogous IL cation, and a noticeable charge delocalization occurring in the tetraalkylammonium cation, when compared with the respective phosphonium congener. It is argued that this charge delocalization is responsible for the enhanced polarity observed on the ammonium based ionic liquids explaining the changes in the thermophysical properties observed.

Quantitative structure-activity relationship for toxicity of ionic liquids to Daphnia magna: aromaticity vs. lipophilicity

Water solubility of ionic liquids (ILs) allows their dispersion into aquatic systems and raises concerns on their pollutant potential. Again, lipophilicity can contribute to the toxicity of ILs due to increased ability of the compounds to cross lipoidal bio-membranes. In the present work, we have performed statistical model development for toxicity of a set of ionic liquids to Daphnia magna, a widely accepted model organism for toxicity testing, using computed lipophilicity, atom-type fragment, quantum topological molecular similarity (QTMS) and extended topochemical atom (ETA) descriptors. The models have been developed and validated in accordance with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines for quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs). The best partial least squares (PLS) model outperforms the previously reported multiple linear regression (MLR) model in statistical quality and predictive ability (R(2)=0.955, Q(2)=0.917, Rpred(2)=0.848). In this work, the ETA descriptors show importance of branching and aromaticity while the QTMS descriptor ellipticity efficiently shows which compounds are influential in the data set, with reference to the model. While obvious importance of lipophilicity is evident from the models, the best model clearly shows the importance of aromaticity suggesting that more lipophilic ILs with less toxicity may be designed by avoiding aromaticity, nitrogen atoms and increasing branching in the cationic structure. The developed quantitative models are in consonance with the recent hypothesis of importance of aromaticity for toxicity of ILs.

Predictive modeling studies for the ecotoxicity of ionic liquids towards the green algae Scenedesmus vacuolatus

Hazardous potential of ionic liquids is becoming an issue of high concern with increasing application of these compounds in various industrial processes. Predictive toxicological modeling on ionic liquids provides a rational assessment strategy and aids in developing suitable guidance for designing novel analogues. The present study attempts to explore the chemical features of ionic liquids responsible for their ecotoxicity towards the green algae Scenedesmus vacuolatus by developing mathematical models using extended topochemical atom (ETA) indices along with other categories of chemical descriptors. The entire study has been conducted with reference to the OECD guidelines for QSAR model development using predictive classification and regression modeling strategies. The best models from both the analyses showed that ecotoxicity of ionic liquids can be decreased by reducing chain length of cationic substituents and increasing hydrogen bond donor feature in cations, and replacing bulky unsaturated anions with simple saturated moiety having less lipophilic heteroatoms.

Ecotoxicity analysis of cholinium-based ionic liquids to Vibrio fischeri marine bacteria

Cholinium-based ionic liquids are quaternary ammonium salts with a wide range of potential industrial applications. Based on the fact that the cholinium is a complex B vitamin and widely used as food additive, the cholinium-based ionic liquids are generically regarded as environmentally "harmless" and thus, accepted as "non-toxic", although their ecotoxicological profile is poorly known. This work provides new ecotoxicological data for ten cholinium-based salts and ionic liquids, aiming to extend the surprisingly restricted body of knowledge about the ecotoxicity of this particular family and to gain insight on the toxicity mechanism of these compounds. The results reported here show that not all the cholinium tested can be considered harmless towards the test organism adopted. Moreover, the results suggest that the cholinium family exhibits a different mechanism of toxicity as compared to the imidazolium ionic liquids previously described in the literature.

Toxicity of ionic liquids: eco(cyto)activity as complicated, but unavoidable parameter for task-specific optimization

Rapid progress in the field of ionic liquids in recent decades led to the development of many outstanding energy-conversion processes, catalytic systems, synthetic procedures, and important practical applications. Task-specific optimization emerged as a sharpening stone for the fine-tuning of structure of ionic liquids, which resulted in unprecedented efficiency at the molecular level. Ionic-liquid systems showed promising opportunities in the development of green and sustainable technologies; however, the chemical nature of ionic liquids is not intrinsically green. Many ionic liquids were found to be toxic or even highly toxic towards cells and living organisms. In this Review, we show that biological activity and cytotoxicity of ionic liquids dramatically depend on the nature of a biological system. An ionic liquid may be not toxic for particular cells or organisms, but may demonstrate high toxicity towards another target present in the environment. Thus, a careful selection of biological activity data is a must for the correct assessment of chemical technologies involving ionic liquids. In addition to the direct biological activity (immediate response), several indirect effects and aftereffects are of primary importance. The following principal factors were revealed to modulate toxicity of ionic liquids: i) length of an alkyl chain in the cation; ii) degree of functionalization in the side chain of the cation; iii) anion nature; iv) cation nature; and v) mutual influence of anion and cation.

Dicationic imidazolium-based ionic liquids: a new strategy for non-toxic and antimicrobial materials

Dicationic imidazolium-based ILs: a potent strategy for applications requiring non-toxic materials with antimicrobial activity.

QSTR with extended topochemical atom (ETA) indices. 16. Development of predictive classification and regression models for toxicity of ionic liquids towards Daphnia magna

Ionic liquids have been judged much with respect to their wide applicability than their considerable harmful effects towards the living ecosystem which has been observed in many instances. Hence, toxicological introspection of these chemicals by the development of predictive mathematical models can be of good help. This study presents an attempt to develop predictive classification and regression models correlating the structurally derived chemical information of a group of 62 diverse ionic liquids with their toxicity towards Daphnia magna and their interpretation. We have principally used the extended topochemical atom (ETA) indices along with various topological non-ETA and thermodynamic parameters as independent variables. The developed quantitative models have been subjected to extensive statistical tests employing multiple validation strategies from which acceptable results have been reported. The best models obtained from classification and regression studies captured necessary structural information on lipophilicity, branching pattern, electronegativity and chain length of the cationic substituents for explaining ecotoxicity of ionic liquids towards D. magna. The derived information can be successfully used to design better ionic liquid analogues acquiring the qualities of a true eco-friendly green chemical.

Toxicity of ionic liquid cations and anions towards activated sewage sludge organisms from different sources -- consequences for biodegradation testing and wastewater treatment plant operation

Ionic liquids (ILs) have attracted great interest in academia and industry during the last decade. So far, several ILs have been used in technological processes, from small scale to industrial applications, which makes it more and more likely that they will be released into the environment. Researchers have been actively studying the environmental and toxicological behaviour of ILs, but their influence on the activated sludge communities of wastewater treatment plants have yet to be investigated. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap by systematically investigating the influence of ILs on activated sewage sludge communities. We tested the inhibition of activated sludge respiration (according to OECD guideline 209) by a selection of 19 different compounds covering the chemical space of ILs as comprehensively as possible. To elicit the differences in sensitivities/tolerances towards ILs we investigated activated sludge from different domestic and industrial sources. Generally speaking, the structure activity relationships of IL toxicity towards activated sludge are in good agreement with those found for other organisms and test systems. The inhibitory potential of tested ILs substituted with short alkyl chains (≤ 4) and polar anions was low. On the other hand, the toxic effects of highly hydrophobic ionic cations and anions were greater - IC50 values were low, some < 50 μM (<10 mg L(-1)). We were able to demonstrate that the EC50 values from Vibrio fischeri can be used for a reliable assessment of the sludge inhibition potential of tested ILs. All the results are discussed in the context of their consequences for biodegradation processes and the performance of wastewater treatment plants.

Wetting behavior of ionic liquid on mesoporous titanium dioxide surface by atomic force microscopy

Ionic liquids based on 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluoro-phosphate (ILs [Bmim][PF6]) has been employed to wet the mesoporous and dense titanium dioxide (TiO2) films. It has been found from atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis that ILs [Bmim][PF6] can form a wetting phase on mesoporous TiO2 films, but nonwetting and sphere shaped droplets on dense films. AFM topography, phase images, and adhesion measurements suggest a remarkable dependence of wetting ILs [Bmim][PF6] films on the TiO2 porous geometry. On mesoporous TiO2 films, the adhesive force of ILs [Bmim][PF6] reaches at 40 nN, but only 4 nN on dense TiO2 films. The weak interacting ILs [Bmim][PF6] on dense TiO2 films forms rounded liquid spheres (contact angle as 40°), which helps to reduce friction locally but not on the whole surface. The stronger adhesive force on mesoporous TiO2 films makes ILs [Bmim][PF6] adhere to the surface tightly (contact angle as 5°), and this feature remains after five months. The stable spreading ILs [Bmim][PF6] films provide low friction coefficient (0.0025), large wetting areas, and short CO2 diffusion distance on the whole mesoporous TiO2 surface, avoiding the significant decelerating effect through equilibrium limitations to enable CO2 capture rate up to 1.6 and 10 times faster than that on dense TiO2 and pure ILs, respectively. And importantly, ILs wetted on mesoporous TiO2 shorten the time reaching to the maximum adsorption rate (2.8 min), faster than that on mesoporous TiO2 (6.1 min), and dense TiO2 (11.2 min). This work provides an important guidance for the improvement of the efficiency of CO2 capture, gas separation, and the lubrication of micro/nanoelectromechanical systems (M/NEMs).

Elicitation of the most important structural properties of ionic liquids affecting ecotoxicity in limnic green algae; a QSAR approach

Many ionic liquids are soluble in water and their impact on the aquatic environment has to be evaluated. However, due to the large number of ionic liquids and lack of experimental data, it is necessary to develop estimation procedures in order to reduce the materials and time consumption. In this study using multilayer perceptron neural network (MLP), ant colony optimization (ACO) and multiple linear regression (MLR) strategies, good predictive quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) models were introduced and structural parameters affecting ecotoxicity of ionic liquids in limnic green algae (Scenedesmus vacuolatus) were revealed. Moreover, principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) approaches were also applied to visualize any possible patterns or relationships among ionic liquids data. It was revealed that selected descriptors of the MLR model are also capable of clustering ionic liquids according to their four level of toxicity.