Toward Designing “Sweet” Ionic Liquids Containing a Natural Terpene Moiety as Effective Wood Preservatives

Abstract

This study is focused on the utilization of naturally occurring terpene alcohol in the synthesis of ionic liquids (ILs) and their application potential in wood protection. A new series of ILs containing a natural, renewable source of (−)-menthol in the cation and a saccharinate derivative as the anion were obtained with a high yield under mild process conditions. The potential applications of synthesized compounds that belong to surface-active compounds were assessed for wood preservation, and they showed positive results. Laboratory tests of their activity against fungi and saccharinate-based chiral ionic liquid (CIL) bonding with Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) wood are described. The biological results for salts with alkyl substituents ranging from pentyl to octyl chains are very promising, and their activity is similar to, and even higher than, that of the commonly used material benzalkonium chloride. The fungicidal values of saccharinate-based CILs against Coniophora puteana ranged from 2.75 to 4.4 ...