Evaluation of Thermophysical Properties of Menthol-Based Deep Eutectic Solvent as a Thermal Fluid: Forced Convection and Numerical Studies

Molecular Guide for Selecting Green Deep Eutectic Solvents with High Monosaccharide Solubility for Food Applications

Monosaccharides play a vital role in the human diet due to their interesting biological activity and functional properties. Conventionally, sugars are extracted using volatile organic solvents (VOCs). Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have recently emerged as a new green alternative to VOCs. Nonetheless, the selection criterion of an appropriate DES for a specific application is a very difficult task due to the designer nature of these solvents and the theoretically infinite number of combinations of their constituents and compositions. This paper presents a framework for screening a large number of DES constituents for monosaccharide extraction application using COSMO-RS. The framework employs the activity coefficients at infinite dilution (γ_i^∞) as a measure of glucose and fructose solubility. Moreover, the toxicity analysis of the constituents is considered to ensure that selected constituents are safe to work with. Finally, the obtained viscosity predictions were used to select DESs that are not transport-limited. To provide more insights into which functional groups are responsible for more effective monosaccharide extraction, a structure-solubility analysis was carried out. Based on an analysis of 212 DES constituents, the top-performing hydrogen bond acceptors were found to be carnitine, betaine, and choline chloride, while the top-performing hydrogen bond donors were oxalic acid, ethanolamine, and citric acid. A research initiative was presented in this paper to develop robust computational frameworks for selecting optimal DESs for a given application to develop an effective DES design strategy that can aid in the development of novel processes using DESs.

Deep Eutectic Solvents in Solar Energy Technologies

Deep Eutectic Solvents (DESs) have been widely used in many fields to exploit their ecofriendly characteristics, from green synthetic procedures to environmentally benign industrial methods. In contrast, their application in emerging solar technologies, where the abundant and clean solar energy is used to properly respond to most important societal needs, is still relatively scarce. This represents a strong limitation since many solar devices make use of polluting or toxic components, thus seriously hampering their eco-friendly nature. Herein, we review the literature, mainly published in the last few years, on the use of DESs in representative solar technologies, from solar plants to last generation photovoltaics, featuring not only their passive role as green solvents, but also their active behavior arising from their peculiar chemical nature. This collection highlights the increasing and valuable role played by DESs in solar technologies, in the fulfillment of green chemistry requirements and for performance enhancement, in particular in terms of long-term temporal stability.