Citric acid-based deep eutectic solvents: Physical properties and their use as cosolvents in sulphuric acid-catalysed ethanolysis of oleic acid

Abstract

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are noted to be green ionic liquid (IL) analogues, and their many favourable properties made them interesting for the scientific community. In this study, two novel DESs of citric acid with the monosaccharides D-glucose or D-fructose (1:1 molar ratio) were prepared and characterized. At the atmospheric pressure, the density, the dynamic viscosity, and the electrical conductivity of these eutectic solvents were measured and analysed as the function of temperature in the practical temperature range of 293.15-363.15 K. Arrhenius theory was employed for understanding the transport phenomena in these DESs. By using the experimental data, some important properties were calculated such as molecular volume, lattice energy, heat capacity, molar Gibbs energy, enthalpy and entropy of activation of viscous flow for the synthesized DESs. The fractional Walden rule was employed to establish the relationship between molar conductivity and viscosity, which proved an excellent linear behaviour. Finally, these DESs were tested as cosolvents in oleic acid (OA) ethanolysis. The investigated DESs possess many desirable properties, such as low vapour pressure, inflammability, biodegradability, and can be obtained from available renewable resources. These DESs showed to have the potential to be utilized for several industrial applications, like processing and separation of food constituents, pharmaceutical applications, and mediums for chemical reactions.