Untapped Potential of Deep Eutectic Solvents for the Synthesis of Bioinspired Inorganic-Organic Materials

Advancing Adsorption and Separation with Modified SBA-15: A Comprehensive Review and Future Perspectives

Mesoporous silica SBA-15 has emerged as a promising adsorbent and separation material due to its unique structural and physicochemical properties. To further enhance its performance, various surface modification strategies, including metal oxide and noble metal incorporation for improved catalytic activity and stability, organic functionalization with amino and thiol groups for enhanced adsorption capacity and selectivity, and inorganic-organic composite modification for synergistic effects, have been extensively explored. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the recent advances in the surface modification of SBA-15 for adsorption and separation applications. The synthesis methods, structural properties, and advantages of SBA-15 are discussed, followed by a detailed analysis of the different modification strategies and their structure-performance relationships. The adsorption and separation performance of functionalized SBA-15 materials in the removal of organic pollutants, heavy metal ions, gases, and biomolecules, as well as in chromatographic and solid-liquid separation, is critically evaluated. Despite the significant progress, challenges and opportunities for future research are identified, including the development of low-cost and sustainable synthesis routes, rational design of SBA-15-based materials with tailored properties, and integration into practical applications. This review aims to guide future research efforts in developing advanced SBA-15-based materials for sustainable environmental and industrial applications, with an emphasis on green and scalable modification strategies.

A review on chitin dissolution as preparation for electrospinning application

Electrospinning has been acknowledged as an efficient technique for the fabrication of continuous nanofibers from polymeric based materials such as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), cellulose acetate (CA), chitin nanocrystals and others. These nanofibers exhibit chemical and mechanical stability, high porosity, functionality, high surface area and one-dimensional orientation which make it extremely beneficial in industrial application. In recent years, research on chitin - a biopolymer derived from crustacean and fungal cell wall - had gained interest due to its unique structural arrangement, excellent physical and chemical properties, in which make it biodegradable, non-toxic and biocompatible. Chitin has been widely utilized in various applications such as wound dressings, drug delivery, tissue engineering, membranes, food packaging and others. However, chitin is insoluble in most solvents due to its highly crystalline structure. An appropriate solvent system is required for dissolving chitin to maximize its application and produce a fine and smooth electrospun nanofiber. This review focuses on the preparation of chitin polymer solution through dissolution process using different types of solvent system for electrospinning process. The effect of processing parameters also discussed by highlighting some representative examples. Finally, the perspectives are presented regarding the current application of electrospun chitin nanofibers in selected fields.

Evaluation of deep eutectic solvents in the synthesis of molecularly imprinted fibers for the solid-phase microextraction of triazines in soil samples

Nowadays, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are well established and are considered excellent materials for performing selective extractions. However, with the progressive implementation of the principles of green chemistry, it is necessary to find greener alternatives for both the synthesis and further use of MIPs in sample preparation. Accordingly, in the present work, different deep eutectic solvents (DES, both hydrophilic and hydrophobic), as an alternative to conventional organic solvents (i.e., toluene), were evaluated as porogens for the synthesis of imprinted fibers (monoliths), using fused silica capillaries as molds, for solid-phase microextraction (SPME). From this study, the polymer prepared with propazine (dummy template), methacrylic acid (monomer), ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (cross-linker), and a formic acid:L-menthol (1:1) DES (porogen) showed the best performance for selective rebinding of triazines. After optimization of the different variables involved in SPME, the new imprinted fibers were successfully applied to the extraction of target analytes (desisopropylatrazine, desethylatrazine, simazine, and atrazine) from soil sample extracts, providing relative recoveries ranging from 75.7 to 120.1%, reaching limits of detection within the range of 6.2-15.7 ng g-1, depending upon the analyte.

Unexpected Energy Applications of Ionic Liquids

Ionic liquids and their various analogues are without doubt the scientific sensation of the last few decades, paving the way to a more sustainable society. Their versatile suite of properties, originating from an almost inconceivably large number of possible cation and anion combinations, allows tuning of the structure to serve a desired purpose. Ionic liquids hence offer a myriad of useful applications from solvents to catalysts, through to lubricants, gas absorbers, and azeotrope breakers. The purpose of this review is to explore the more unexpected of these applications, particularly in the energy space. It guides the reader through the application of ionic liquids and their analogues as i) phase change materials for thermal energy storage, ii) organic ionic plastic crystals, which have been studied as battery electrolytes and in gas separation, iii) key components in the nitrogen reduction reaction for sustainable ammonia generation, iv) as electrolytes in aluminum-ion batteries, and v) in other emerging technologies. It is concluded that there is tremendous scope for further optimizing and tuning of the ionic liquid in its task, subject to sustainability imperatives in line with current global priorities, assisted by artificial intelligence.