Controlling simonkolleite crystallisation via metallic Zn oxidation in a betaine hydrochloride solution.

Zinc oxide nanoparticles, with a hexagonal flake structure, are of significant interest across a range of applications including photocatalysis and biomedicine. Simonkolleite (Zn5(OH)8Cl2·H2O), a layered double hydroxide, is a precursor for ZnO. Most simonkolleite synthesis routes require precise pH adjustment of Zn-containing salts in alkaline solution, and still produce some undesired morphologies along with the hexagonal one. Additionally, liquid-phase synthesis routes, based on conventional solvents, are environmentally burdensome. Herein aqueous ionic liquid, betaine hydrochloride (betaine·HCl), solutions are used to directly oxidise metallic Zn, producing pure simonkolleite nano/microcrystals (X-ray diffraction analysis, thermogravimetric analysis). Imaging (scanning electron microscopy) showed regular and uniform hexagonal simonkolleite flakes. Morphological control, as a function of reaction conditions (betaine·HCl concentration, reaction time, and reaction temperature), was achieved. Different growth mechanisms were observed as a function of the concentration of betaine·HCl solution, both traditional classical growth of individual crystals and non-traditional growth patterns; the latter included examples of Ostwald ripening and oriented attachment. After calcination, simonkolleite's transformation into ZnO retains its hexagonal skeleton; this produces a nano/micro-ZnO with a relatively uniform shape and size through a convenient reaction route.

Application of a phosphonium-based ionic liquid for reactive textile dye removal: Extraction study and toxicological evaluation.

Textile dyeing processes are known for their negative environmental impacts due to the production of aqueous effluents containing toxic dyes. Therefore, new wastewater treatment processes need to be developed to treat such effluents, including Liquid-Liquid Extraction (LLE) process using Ionic Liquids (IL). This work aimed to evaluate the application of the hydrophobic IL trihexyltetradecylphosphonium decanoate to extract black, navy, and royal reactive dyes from water and evaluate the toxicological aspects of the resulting water stream. We investigated the effect of selected parameters, such as pH (2-12), temperature (20-50 °C), salt effects, dye concentration (0.5-50 mg/L), and phase volume ratio (900-9000) on the dye extraction. The results showed extraction yields as high as 97% for the three dyes and an extraction capacity of approximately 300 mg/g for black and navy dyes and 400 mg/g for royal. The toxicity tests involved Lactuca sativa, Triticum aestivium L, and Daphnia magna as bioindicators. The difference between the toxicity of the dye solutions before and after extraction was not statistically significant when L. sativa and Triticum aestivum L were used as bioindicators. However, the extracted solution showed increased toxicity towards D. magna due to traces of IL. Overall, the IL has a high extraction capacity for the black, navy, and royal dyes. Nevertheless, further studies on LLE associated with other processes must be carried out to reduce the risk linked to the toxicity of IL transferred to the water.

A review on machine learning algorithms for the ionic liquid chemical space.

There are thousands of papers published every year investigating the properties and possible applications of ionic liquids. Industrial use of these exceptional fluids requires adequate understanding of their physical properties, in order to create the ionic liquid that will optimally suit the application. Computational property prediction arose from the urgent need to minimise the time and cost that would be required to experimentally test different combinations of ions. This review discusses the use of machine learning algorithms as property prediction tools for ionic liquids (either as standalone methods or in conjunction with molecular dynamics simulations), presents common problems of training datasets and proposes ways that could lead to more accurate and efficient models.

Eucalyptus red grandis pretreatment with protic ionic liquids: effect of severity and influence of sub/super-critical CO2 atmosphere on pretreatment performance.

Deconstruction of lignocellulosic biomass with low-cost ionic liquids (ILs) has proven to be a promising technology that could be implemented in a biorefinery to obtain renewable materials, fuels and chemicals. This study investigates the pretreatment efficacy of the ionoSolv pretreatment of Eucalyptus red grandis using the low-cost ionic liquid triethylammonium hydrogen sulfate ([N2220][HSO4]) in the presence of 20 wt% water at 10% solids loading. The temperatures investigated were 120 °C and 150 °C. Also, the influence of performing the pretreatment under sub-critical and supercritical CO2 was investigated. The IL used is very effective in deconstructing eucalyptus, producing cellulose-rich pulps resulting in enzymatic saccharification yields of 86% for some pretreatment conditions. It has been found that under a CO2 atmosphere, the ionoSolv process is pressure independent. The good performance of this IL in the pretreatment of eucalyptus is promising for the development of a large-scale ionoSolv pretreatment processes.