About this Research Topic
The industrial development has required notable efforts in all fields of knowledge, however, in the past all advances were focused on productivity in detriment of the environment and health. This situation has changed, with a focus on sustainable processes that reduce waste to a minimum. This new "Green" paradigm has led to the need to develop new platforms for the synthesis, extraction, separation, treatment, and recovery of compounds from industrial processes and effluents. Among the most important commitments of this philosophy is the development of new generation ionic liquids, which are ionic solvents with a low vapor pressure, and whose properties are designed by selecting the appropriate cation-anion conformation, offering millions of possibilities in their applications. Thus, ionic liquids find applications in a wide variety of fields, whose main premise is their low environmental impact. Ionic liquids have been applied as substitutes in chemical synthesis, catalysts, solvents, and adsorbents, as well as in electrochemistry, electrodeposition, batteries, energy storage and recovery, nanotechnology, polymer and gel components, antibiotics, and analytical chemistry, among many other applications.
Of special interest are room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs), especially those made up of cations and anions with high biological compatibility, easy degradability, and low environmental toxicity. For example, RTILs have been developed by substituting amino acids, vitamins, carbohydrates, and other ionic components, which are more environmental-friendly than first-generation RTILs based on pyridinium and imidazolium salts. Moreover, capabilities for dissolving lignocellulose materials expand a fascinating field in the design of new solvents. Another field of important application is the development of batteries using green chemistry principles. However, there are also other promising fields with lesser explorations, such as wastewater treatment and organic pollutants removal. Additionally, their combination with other materials to create composites and ionic liquid-modified materials has led to a wide range of environmental applications, from water pollutants adsorption to electrochemical sensors and CO2 capture and conversion. For all these reasons, it is important to promote these new technologies to meet the needs of today's industry through the principles of sustainability.
This Research Topic aims to focus on the latest research trends for the design of platforms based on biocompatible and biodegradable ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents, for environmental applications, including but not limited to:
a) Extraction and recovery of contaminants in solid, liquid and gas matrices
b) Biomass extraction
c) Design of aqueous biphasic systems to recover molecules of industrial and pharmaceutical interest from wastewater and other industrial effluents.
d) Surfactants for oil spills remediation
e) Development of energy storage and harvesting systems with low environmental impact
f) Additives in chromatography and capillary electrophoresis separations
g) Electrochemical sensors for pollutants detection in aqueous and soil samples
h) Catalytic degradation of pollutants
i) CO2 capture and conversion
j) Polymers, gels, nanoparticles and new composites with environmental applications
We welcome original research articles, reviews, mini-reviews and perspectives.
The Topic Editors would like to acknowledge Luis C. Avalos-Cuen and Isaac Arellanes-Beltran, who contributed to the preparation of the proposal.
Of special interest are room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs), especially those made up of cations and anions with high biological compatibility, easy degradability, and low environmental toxicity. For example, RTILs have been developed by substituting amino acids, vitamins, carbohydrates, and other ionic components, which are more environmental-friendly than first-generation RTILs based on pyridinium and imidazolium salts. Moreover, capabilities for dissolving lignocellulose materials expand a fascinating field in the design of new solvents. Another field of important application is the development of batteries using green chemistry principles. However, there are also other promising fields with lesser explorations, such as wastewater treatment and organic pollutants removal. Additionally, their combination with other materials to create composites and ionic liquid-modified materials has led to a wide range of environmental applications, from water pollutants adsorption to electrochemical sensors and CO2 capture and conversion. For all these reasons, it is important to promote these new technologies to meet the needs of today's industry through the principles of sustainability.
This Research Topic aims to focus on the latest research trends for the design of platforms based on biocompatible and biodegradable ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents, for environmental applications, including but not limited to:
a) Extraction and recovery of contaminants in solid, liquid and gas matrices
b) Biomass extraction
c) Design of aqueous biphasic systems to recover molecules of industrial and pharmaceutical interest from wastewater and other industrial effluents.
d) Surfactants for oil spills remediation
e) Development of energy storage and harvesting systems with low environmental impact
f) Additives in chromatography and capillary electrophoresis separations
g) Electrochemical sensors for pollutants detection in aqueous and soil samples
h) Catalytic degradation of pollutants
i) CO2 capture and conversion
j) Polymers, gels, nanoparticles and new composites with environmental applications
We welcome original research articles, reviews, mini-reviews and perspectives.
The Topic Editors would like to acknowledge Luis C. Avalos-Cuen and Isaac Arellanes-Beltran, who contributed to the preparation of the proposal.
Keywords: extraction, sensors, Ionic liquids, RTIL, environmental applications, biodegradable, recovery, wastewater treatment
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
