Search Results (57)

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is the most significant anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG), accounting for approximately 81% of total emissions, with methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), and fluorinated gases contributing the remainder. Rising atmospheric CO₂ concentrations, driven primarily by fossil fuel combustion, industrial processes, and transportation, have surpassed the Earth’s natural sequestration capacity, intensifying climate change impacts. Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) offers a portfolio of solutions to mitigate these emissions, encompassing pre-combustion, post-combustion, oxy-fuel combustion, and direct air capture (DAC) technologies. This review synthesizes advancements in CO₂ capture materials including liquid absorbents (amines, amino acids, ionic liquids, hydroxides/carbonates), solid adsorbents (metal–organic frameworks, zeolites, carbon-based materials, metal oxides), hybrid sorbents, and emerging hydrogel-based systems and their integration with utilization and storage routes. Special emphasis is given to CO₂ mineralization using mine tailings, steel slag, fly ash, and bauxite residue, as well as biological mineralization employing carbonic anhydrase (CA) immobilized in hydrogels. The techno-economic performance of these pathways is compared, highlighting that while high-capacity sorbents offer scalability, hydrogels and biomineralization excel in low-temperature regeneration and integration with waste valorization. Challenges remain in cost reduction, material stability under industrial flue gas conditions, and integration with renewable energy systems. The review concludes that hybrid, cross-technology CCUS configurations combining complementary capture, utilization, and storage strategies will be essential to meeting 2030 and 2050 climate targets. Full article

Metal anodes promise improvements in energy density and cost; however, their performance is determined within the first several nanometers at the interface. This review reports on how polymer-based artificial solid electrolyte interphases (SEIs) are engineered to stabilize Li and aqueous-Zn anodes, and how these designs are now evaluated against operando readouts rather than post-mortem snapshots. We group the related molecular strategies into three classes: (i) side-chain/ionomer chemistry (salt-philic, fluorinated, zwitterionic) to increase cation selectivity and manage local solvation; (ii) dynamic or covalently cross-linked networks to absorb microcracks and maintain coverage during plating/stripping; and (iii) polymer–ceramic hybrids that balance modulus, wetting, and ionic transport characteristics. We then benchmark these choices against metal-specific constraints—high reductive potential and inactive Li accumulation for Li, and pH, water activity, corrosion, and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) for Zn—showing why a universal preparation method is unlikely. A central element is a system of design parameters and operando metrics that links material parameters to readouts collected under bias, including the nucleation overpotential (η_nuc), interfacial impedance (charge transfer resistance (R_ct)/SEI resistance (R_SEI)), morphology/roughness statistics from liquid-cell or cryogenic electron microscopy (Cryo-EM), stack swelling, and (for Li) inactive-Li inventory. By contrast, planar plating/stripping and HER suppression are primary success metrics for Zn. Finally, we outline parameters affecting these systems, including the use of lean electrolytes, the N/P ratio, high areal capacity/current density, and pouch-cell pressure uniformity, and discuss closed-loop workflows that couple molecular design with multimodal operando diagnostics. In this view, polymer artificial SEIs evolve from curated “recipes” into predictive, transferable interfaces, paving a path from coin-cell to prototype-level Li- and Zn-metal batteries. Full article

Despite notable advancements in lithium-ion battery (LIB) technology, growing industrialization, rising energy demands, and evolving consumer electronics continue to raise performance requirements. As the primary determinant of battery performance, cathode materials have become a central research focus. Among emerging candidates, iron-based fluorides show great promise due to their high theoretical specific capacities, elevated operating voltages, low cost (owing to abundant iron and fluorine), and structurally diverse crystalline forms such as pyrochlore and tungsten bronze types. These features make them strong contenders for next-generation high-energy, low-cost LIBs. This review highlights recent progress in iron-based fluoride cathode materials, with an emphasis on structural regulation and performance enhancement strategies. Using pyrochlore-type hydrated iron trifluoride (Fe₂F₅·H₂O), synthesized via ionic liquids like BmimBF₄, as a representative example, we discuss key methods for tuning physicochemical properties—such as electronic conductivity, ion diffusion, and structural stability—via doping, compositing, nanostructuring, and surface engineering. Advanced characterization tools (XRD, SEM/TEM, XPS, Raman, synchrotron radiation) and electrochemical analyses are used to reveal structure–property–performance relationships. Finally, we explore current challenges and future directions to guide the practical deployment of iron-based fluorides in LIBs. This review provides theoretical insights for designing high-performance, cost-effective cathode materials. Full article

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) are today widely used as refrigerants, solvents, or aerosols for fire protection. Due to their non-negligible environmental impact, there exists an increasing interest towards their effective separation and recovery, which still remains a major challenge. This work presents a comprehensive thermodynamic and transport modeling approach able to describe HFC sorption and transport in different amorphous polymers, including glassy, rubbery, and copolymers, as well as in supported Ionic Liquid membranes (SILMs). In particular, the literature solubility data for refrigerants such as R-32, R-125, R-134a, and R-152a is analyzed by means of the Sanchez–Lacombe Equation of State (SL-EoS), and its non-equilibrium extension (NELF), to predict gas uptake in complex polymeric materials. The Standard Transport Model (STM) is then employed to describe permeability behaviors, incorporating concentration-dependent diffusion using a mobility coefficient and thermodynamic factor. Results demonstrate that fluorinated gases exhibit strong affinity to fluorinated and high free-volume polymers, and that solubility is primarily governed by gas condensability, molecular size, and polymer structure. The combined EoS–STM approach accurately predicts both solubility and permeability across different pressures in all polymers, including SILM. The thorough study of HFC transport in polymer membranes provided both systematic insights and predictive capabilities to guide the design of next-generation materials for refrigerant recovery and low-GWP separation processes. Full article

Carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas responsible for global warming, represents today a critical environmental challenge for humans. Mitigating CO₂ emissions and other greenhouse gases is a pressing global concern. The primary goal of this study is to investigate the potential of particular ionic liquids (ILs) in capturing CO₂ for the sweetening of natural and other gases. The solubility of CO₂ was measured in three distinct ILs, which shared a common anion (triflate, TfO) but differed in their cations. The selected ionic liquids were {1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium triflate [BMIM][TfO], 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium triflate [BMP][TfO], and 1-butyl-4-methylpyridium triflate [MBPY][TfO]}. The solvents were screened based on results from a molecular computational study that predicted low CO₂ Henry’s Law constants. Solubility measurements were conducted at 303.15 K, 323.15 K, and 343.15 K and pressures up to 1.5 MPa using a gravimetric microbalance (IGA-003). The CO₂ experimental results were modeled using the Peng–Robinson Equation of state with three mixing rules: van der Waals one (vdWI), van der Waals two (vdWII), and the non-random two-liquid (NRTL) Wong–Sandler (WS) mixing rule. For the three ILs, the NRTL-WS mixing rule regressed the data with the lowest average deviation percentage of 1.24%. The three solvents had similar alkyl chains but slightly different polarities. [MBPY][TfO], with the largest size, exhibited the highest CO₂ solubility at all three temperatures. Calculation of its relative polarity descriptor (N) shows it was the least polar of the three ILs. Conversely, [BMP][TfO] showed the highest Henry’s Law constant (lowest solubility) across the studied temperature range. Comparing the results to published data, the study concludes that triflate-based ionic liquids with three fluorine atoms had lower capacity for CO₂ compared to bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide (Tf2N)-based ionic liquids with six fluorine atoms. Additionally, the study provided data on the enthalpy and entropy of absorption. A final comparison shows that the ILs had a lower CO₂ capacity than Selexol, a solvent widely used in commercial carbon capture operations. Compared to other ILs, the results confirm that the type of anion had a more significant impact on solubility than the cation. Full article

Deionized water is replacing fluorinated liquids as the preferred choice for two-phase immersion cooling in data centers. Yet, insufficient bubble removal capability at low saturated pressure is a key challenge hindering the widespread application. To solve this issue, this study employs non-ionic surfactant (Tween 20) and asymmetric structures (expanding microchannel) to enhance the boiling performances of deionized water under sub-atmospheric pressure. The research examines the effects of pressure (8.8~38.5 kPa), surfactant concentration (0.1~0.5 mL/L), and heat flux density (10~180 W/cm²) on the boiling heat transfer characteristics and analyzes the mechanism of unusual temperature oscillations induced by surfactants. It was found that the trade-off between the sub-atmospheric pressure, surface tension coefficient, and reduced static contact angle results in pronounced intermittent boiling on the heated surface. Even with the addition of surfactants, the improvement in heat transfer requires demanding conditions. Boiling enhancement throughout all heat flux conditions was achieved when the surfactant concentration was higher than 0.2 mL/L for the expanding microchanneled surface. The heat transfer coefficient reached 6.89 W·cm⁻²·K⁻¹ under 8.8 kPa, which was 45% higher than without the surfactant. Under the same heat flux and sub-atmospheric pressure, as the concentration increased from 0.1 to 0.5 mL/L, the amplitudes of temperature fluctuation of the plane surface and expanding microchanneled surface decreased from 10 K to 2 K and 18 K to 1 K, respectively. The onset of nucleate boiling and wall superheat of the expanding microchanneled surface gradually decreased with the increase in surfactant concentration, where the onset of nucleate boiling decreased by 10.54 K. When the heat flux is 160 W/cm², the wall superheat is reduced by 12.8 K. Full article

This work unfolds functionalized ABSs composed of FILs ([C₂C₁Im][C₄F₉SO₃] and [${\mathrm{N}}_{1112\left(\mathrm{OH}\right)}$][C₄F₉SO₃]), mere fluoro-containing ILs ([C₂C₁Im][CF₃SO₃] and [C₄C₁Im][CF₃SO₃]), known globular protein stabilizers (sucrose and [${\mathrm{N}}_{1112\left(\mathrm{OH}\right)}$][C₄F₉SO₃]), low-molecular-weight carbohydrate (glucose), and even high-charge density salt (K₃PO₄). The ternary phase diagrams were determined, stressing that FILs highly increased the ability for ABS formation. The functionalized ABSs (FILs vs. mere fluoro-containing ILs) were used to extract lysozyme (Lys). The ABSs’ biphasic regions were screened in terms of protein biocompatibility, analyzing the impact of ABS phase-forming components in Lys by UV-VIS spectrophotometry, CD spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, DSC, and enzyme assay. Lys partition behavior was characterized in terms of extraction efficiency (% EE). The structure, stability, and function of Lys were maintained or improved throughout the extraction step, as evaluated by CD spectroscopy, DSC, enzyme assay, and SDS-PAGE. Overall, FIL-based ABSs are more versatile and amenable to being tuned by the adequate choice of the phase-forming components and selecting the enriched phase. Binding studies between Lys and ABS phase-forming components were attained by MST, demonstrating the strong interaction between Lys and FILs aggregates. Two of the FIL-based ABSs (30 %wt [C₂C₁Im][C₄F₉SO₃] + 2 %wt K₃PO₄ and 30 %wt [C₂C₁Im][C₄F₉SO₃] + 25 %wt sucrose) allowed the simultaneous purification of Lys and BSA in a single ABS extraction step with high yield (extraction efficiency up to 100%) for both proteins. The purity of both recovered proteins was validated by SDS-PAGE analysis. Even with a high-charge density salt, the FIL-based ABSs developed in this work seem more amenable to be tuned. Lys and BSA were purified through selective partition to opposite phases in a single FIL-based ABS extraction step. FIL-based ABSs are proposed as an improved extraction step for proteins, based on their biocompatibility, customizable properties, and selectivity. Full article

Anion-driven, nanoscale polar–apolar structural organization is investigated in a solvate ionic liquid (SIL) setting by comparing sulfonate-based anions with long and short perfluorinated alkyl chains. Representative SILs are created from 1,2-bis(2-methoxyethoxy)ethane (“triglyme” or “G3”), lithium nonafluoro-1-butanesulfonate, and lithium trifluoromethanesulfonate. Molecular dynamics simulations, density functional theory computations, and vibrational spectroscopy provide insight into the overall liquid structure, cation–solvent interactions, and cation–anion association. Significant competition between G3 and anions for cation-binding sites characterizes the G3–LiC₄F₉SO₃ mixtures. Only 50% of coordinating G3 molecules form tetradentate complexes with Li⁺ in [(G3)₁Li][C₄F₉SO₃]. Moreover, the SIL is characterized by extensive amounts of ion pairing. Based on these observations, [(G3)₁Li][C₄F₉SO₃] is classified as a “poor” SIL, similar to the analogous [(G3)₁Li][CF₃SO₃] system. Even though the comparable basicity of the CF₃SO₃⁻ and C₄F₉SO₃⁻ anions leads to similar SIL classifications, the hydrophobic fluorobutyl groups support extensive apolar domain formation. These apolar moieties permeate throughout [(G3)₁Li][C₄F₉SO₃] and persist even at relatively low dilution ratios of [(G3)₁₀Li][C₄F₉SO₃]. By way of comparison, the CF₃ group is far too short to sustain polar–apolar segregation. This demonstrates how chemically modifying the anions to include hydrophobic groups can impart unique nanoscale organization to a SIL. Moreover, tuning these nano-segregated fluorinated domains could, in principle, control the presence of dimensionally ordered states in these mixtures without changing the coordination of the lithium ions. Full article

Due to the favorable features obtained through the incorporation of fluorine atom(s), fluorinated drugs are a group with emerging pharmaceutical importance. As their commercial availability is still very limited, to expand the range of possible candidates, new fluorinated tryptophan analogs were synthesized. Control of enantiopurity during the synthesis procedure requires that highly efficient enantioseparation methods be available. In this work, the enantioseparation of seven fluorinated tryptophans and tryptophan was studied and compared systematically to (i) develop analytical methods for enantioselective separations and (ii) explore the chromatographic features of the fluorotrytophans. For enantioresolution, macrocyclic glycopeptide-based selectors linked to core-shell particles were utilized, applying liquid chromatography-based methods. Application of the polar-ionic mode resulted in asymmetric and broadened peaks, while reversed-phase conditions, together with mobile-phase additives, resulted in baseline separation for all studied fluorinated tryptophans. The marked differences observed between the methanol and acetonitrile-containing eluent systems can be explained by the different solvation abilities of the bulk solvents of the applied mobile phases. Among the studied chiral selectors, teicoplanin and teicoplanin aglycone were found to work effectively. Under optimized conditions, baseline separations were achieved within 6 min. Ionic interactions were semi-quantitatively characterized and found to not influence enantiorecognition. Interestingly, fluorination of the analytes does not lead to marked changes in the chromatographic characteristics of the methanol-containing eluents, while larger differences were noticed when the polar but aprotic acetonitrile was applied. Experiments conducted on the influence of the separation temperature indicated that the separations are enthalpically driven, with only one exception. Enantiomeric elution order was found to be constant on both teicoplanin and teicoplanin aglycone-based chiral stationary phases (L < D) under all applied chromatographic conditions. Full article

Stretchable ionogels, as soft ion-conducting materials, have generated significant interest. However, the integration of multiple functions into a single ionogel, including temperature tolerance, self-adhesiveness, and stability in diverse environments, remains a challenge. In this study, a new class of fluorine-containing ionogels was synthesized through photo-initiated copolymerization of fluorinated hexafluorobutyl methacrylate and butyl acrylate in a fluorinated ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium bis (trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide. The resulting ionogels demonstrate good stretchability with a fracture strain of ~1300%. Owing to the advantages of the fluorinated network and the ionic liquid, the ionogels show excellent stability in air and vacuum, as well as in various solvent media such as water, sodium chloride solution, and hexane. Additionally, the ionogels display impressive wide temperature tolerance, functioning effectively within a wide temperature range from −60 to 350 °C. Moreover, due to their adhesive properties, the ionogels can be easily attached to various substrates, including plastic, rubber, steel, and glass. Sensors made of these ionogels reliably respond to repetitive tensile-release motion and finger bending in both air and underwater. These findings suggest that the developed ionogels hold great promise for application in wearable devices. Full article

Interferon alpha-2b (IFN-$\alpha$2b) is an essential cytokine widely used in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C and hairy cell leukemia, and serum albumin is the most abundant plasma protein with numerous physiological functions. Effective single-step aqueous biphasic system (ABS) extraction for the simultaneous purification of IFN-$\alpha$2b and BSA (serum albumin protein) was developed in this work. Effects of the ionic liquid (IL)-based ABS functionalization, fluorinated ILs (FILs; [C${}_2$C${}_1$Im][C${}_4$F${}_9$SO${}_3$] and [N${}_{1112\left(\mathrm{OH}\right)}$][C${}_4$F${}_9$SO${}_3$]) vs. mere fluoro-containing IL ([C${}_4$C${}_1$Im][CF${}_3$SO${}_3$]), in combination with sucrose or [N${}_{1112\left(\mathrm{OH}\right)}$][H${}_2$PO${}_4$] (well-known globular protein stabilizers), or high-charge-density salt K${}_3$PO${}_4$ were investigated. The effects of phase pH, phase water content (%wt), phase composition (%wt), and phase volume ratio were investigated. The phase pH was found to have a significant effect on IFN-$\alpha$2b and BSA partition. Experimental results show that simultaneous single-step purification was achieved with a high yield (extraction efficiency up to 100%) for both proteins and a purification factor of IFN-$\alpha$2b high in the enriched IFN-$\alpha$2b phase (up to 23.22) and low in the BSA-enriched phase (down to 0.00). SDS-PAGE analysis confirmed the purity of both recovered proteins. The stability and structure of IFN-$\alpha$2b and BSA were preserved or even improved (FIL-rich phase) during the purification step, as evaluated by CD spectroscopy and DSC. Binding studies of IFN-$\alpha$2b and BSA with the ABS phase-forming components were assessed by MST, showing the strong interaction between FILs aggregates and both proteins. In view of their biocompatibility, customizable properties, and selectivity, FIL-based ABSs are suggested as an improved purification step that could facilitate the development of biologics. Full article

Poly- and perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) are widely used in the electrical and electronic appliance industry to the point that waste of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), also known as e-waste, creates significant potential for PFAS exposure (by inhalation, ingestion, or dermal exposure) for people handling and recycling e-waste. The aim of this work was the development of an untargeted analytical approach in order to detect the presence of possible unknown PFASs in particulate matter collected in three Italian e-waste facilities through liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (LC-HR-MS/MS) in negative ionization mode. By means of three acquisition experiments, nine compounds were detected as candidate PFASs, and three were definitively confirmed by comparison with their authentic standards. Among these, bistriflimide (bis (trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide), an ionic liquid with several promising technological applications, was the most abundant compound detected in all three recycling plants. This is the first study associating the presence of fluorinated ionic liquids with e-waste, and as these chemicals are not only toxic and persistent but also highly mobile, our results indicate the need to include them in future PFAS research. Only further data on their actual environmental diffusion will determine whether they are emerging pollutants or not. Full article

Hexaethylene glycolic vinyl imidazolium (hexaEGVIM) was supported on N-vinyl caprolactam via covalent bonds through simple copolymerization to form poly caprolactam-supported hexaethylene glycol-substituted imidazolium salts (PCLS-hexaEGIM). The resulting heterogeneous PCLS-hexaEGIM promoter was active, selective, and stable for aliphatic nucleophilic substitution reactions using alkali metal salts. The alkali metal salts dramatically enhanced the reactivity of this heterogeneous catalyst with easily isolable higher product yields, reducing the formation of by-products. Therefore, nucleophilic fluorination and other substitution reactions can act as highly efficient catalysts in various sulfonyloxyalkanes and haloalkanes with regard to their corresponding fluorinated products. Full article

Fire is a typical disaster in the processing industry. Ionic liquids, as a type of green flame retardant, play an important role in process safety. In order to grasp the current research status, hotspots, and frontiers in the field of ionic liquids in flame retardancy, the bibliometric mapping method is applied to study the relevant literature in Web of Science datasets from 2000–2022 in this paper. The results show that the research on ionic liquids in flame retardancy is multidisciplinary and involves some disciplines such as energy science, material science, and environmental protection. Journal of Power Sources, Polymer Degradation and Stability, ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, and Chemical Engineering Journal are the core journals in the field. The results of keyword co-occurrence indicate that the hotspots of research can be divided into five components: the improvement and application of pure ionic liquids electrolytes, the research of gel polymer electrolytes, applying ionic liquids to enhance the polymer materials’ flame retardancy properties, utilizing ionic liquids and inorganic materials to synergize flame retardant polymers, and using ionic liquids flame retardant to improve material’s multiple properties. The burst terms and time zone diagram’s results point out the combination of computational quantum chemistry to study the flame retardancy mechanism of ionic liquids, the study of fluorinated electrolytes, ionic liquids for smoke suppression, phosphorus-containing ionic liquids for flame retardant, and machine learning-assisted design of ILs flame retardants are the research frontiers and future research trends. Full article