Abstract
Carbohydrates represent a promising option in transitioning from oil-based chemical resources to renewable ones, with the goal of developing chemistries for a sustainable future. Cellulose, hemicellulose, and largely available monosaccharides already provide useful chemical building blocks, so-called platform chemicals, such as levulinic acid and hydroxymethyl furfural, as well as solvents like cyrene or gamma-valerolactone. Therefore, there is great anticipation for novel applications involving materials and chemicals derived from sugars. In the field of ionic liquids (ILs), sugar-based ILs have been overlooked for a long time, mainly on account of their multistep demanding preparation. However, exploring new strategies for accessing sugar-based ILs, their study, and their exploitation, are attracting increasing interest. This is due to the growing concerns about the negative (eco)toxicity profile of most ILs in conjunction with their non-sustainable nature. In the present review, a literature survey concerning the development of sugar-based ILs since 2011 is presented. Their preparation strategies and thermal behavior analyses, sorted by sugar type, make up the first two sections with the intention to provide the reader with a useful guide. A final overview of the potential applications of sugar-based ILs and their future perspectives complement the present analysis.
Highlights
Ionic liquids (ILs) are organic salts that melt below an arbitrary limit set at 100 ◦C [1].The cation is generally unsymmetrical, rather bulky, and of organic nature, while the anion can be either of organic or inorganic nature
It is worth mentioning a recent impressive result reported by D’Anna et al [17], who showed how attaching a sugar pendant to an imidazolium cation resulted in an ionic liquids (ILs) with reduced toxicity towards Zebrafish embryos
The synthesis of ionic liquids (ILs) starting from carbohydrates can be performed following two main approaches: In the first one, the ionization is obtained by an acid-base
Summary
Ionic liquids (ILs) are organic salts that melt below an arbitrary limit set at 100 ◦C [1]. During the years, studies related to the (eco)toxicity and biodegradability of ILs [7,8,9] raised some concern about the real green profile of these solvents These reports showed the need for an in-depth, multilevel investigation aimed to determine the key features of each IL system and to prevent baseless generalizations. The ease of synthesis of carbohydrate-based ILs is a critical part, to the point that it still limits the full exploitation of these innovative materials It is worth mentioning a recent impressive result reported by D’Anna et al [17], who showed how attaching a sugar pendant to an imidazolium cation resulted in an IL with reduced toxicity towards Zebrafish embryos. The last section will provide an overview of the field of application of sugar-based ILs
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
