Commercialization of Ionic Liquids in Pursuit of Green Chemistry: Must we Each Become an Entrepreneur?

Abstract

There will be common challenges to scaling‐up any ionic liquids separations technologies which require very large volumes of ionic liquid. Some of these challenges are illustrated in this personal account which chronicles the extraction of chitin from shrimp shell from discovery to current commercialization efforts. The road being taken from discovery in an academic laboratory, through attempts to navigate the scaling‐up to commercial scale using the vehicle of a faculty startup company is rewarding, but fraught with roadblocks, detours, and unexpected challenges. The differences in ‘technically feasible’ and ‘commercially viable’ are not always evident from the beginning of the journey, however, one wonders what achievements we miss as a Society because it was assumed to not be commercially viable.

Linear copolymers based on cholinium functionalized with antibiotic anions for single– and dual–drug delivery systems

“…This organic salt represents ionic liquids (ILs) [1], which possess chemical stability, ability to enhance solubility, and modi ability by ion exchange for adjustment of physical and chemical properties [2,3,4]. Their biological attributes include enhancing skin penetration [5], acting as antibacterial properties [6], functioning as stabilizers [7,8], cytotoxic and local anesthetic properties, anti-fungal and anti-acne activities, and antibiotic actions [9,10,3]. Furthermore, the versatility of ILs extends to their ability to accommodate a wide range of pharmaceutical substances, including antiviral and antimicrobial agents, antioxidants, anticoagulants, nonsteroidal anti-in ammatory drugs, anticancer drugs, and others [11,12,13,14,15,16,3].…”

Monitoring of the voltage-induced microstructure of C12mimBr ionic liquids on a HOPG surface usingin situXAFS

“…2 ILs have a wide combination of cations and anions which endow them with potential for a variety of applications, such as in green chemistry, catalysis, electrochemistry and nanomaterial synthesis. 3,4 ILs have been widely used in energy storage devices as electrolytes instead of traditional organic or aqueous electrolytes. 5,6 In many cases, the performance of these devices is determined by the microstructures and dynamics of ILs at the solid electrode interfaces.…”

“…2 ILs have a wide combination of cations and anions which endow them with potential for a variety of applications, such as in green chemistry, catalysis, electrochemistry and nanomaterial synthesis. 3,4…”