Deep Eutectic Solvents: Sustainable Media for Nanoscale and Functional Materials

• Published in: Accounts of chemical research 2014-08, Vol.47 (8), p.2299-2308
• Main Authors: Wagle, Durgesh V, Zhao, Hua, Baker, Gary A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0001-4842; 1520-4898
• DOI: 10.1021/ar5000488

Conspectus Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) represent an alternative class of ionic fluids closely resembling room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs), although, strictly speaking, they are distinguished by the fact that they also contain an organic molecular component (typically, a hydrogen bond donor like a urea, amide, acid, or polyol), frequently as the predominant constituent. Practically speaking, DESs are attractive alternatives to RTILs, sharing most of their remarkable qualities (e.g., tolerance to humidity, negligible vapor pressure, thermostability, wide electrochemical potential windows, tunability) while overcoming several limitations associated with their RTIL cousins. Particularly, DESs are typically, less expensive, more synthetically accessible (typically, from bulk commodity chemicals using solvent/waste-free processes), nontoxic, and biodegradable. In this Account, we provide an overview of DESs as designer solvents to create well-defined nanomaterials including shape-controlled nanoparticles, electrodeposited films, metal–organic frameworks, colloidal assemblies, hierarchically porous carbons, and DNA/RNA architectures. These breakthroughs illustrate how DESs can fulfill multiple roles in directing chemistry at the nanoscale: acting as supramolecular template, metal/carbon source, sacrificial agent (e.g., ammonia release from urea), and/or redox agent, all in the absence of formal stabilizing ligand (here, solvent and stabilizer are one and the same). The ability to tailor the physicochemical properties of DESs is central to controlling their interfacial behavior. The preorganized “supramolecular” nature of DESs provides a soft template to guide the formation of bimodal porous carbon networks or the evolution of electrodeposits. A number of essential parameters (viscosity, polarity, surface tension, hydrogen bonding), plus coordination with solutes/surfaces, all play significant roles in modulating species reactivity and mass transport properties governing the genesis of nanostructure. Furthermore, DES components may modulate nucleation and growth mechanisms by charge neutralization, modification of reduction potentials (or chemical activities), and passivation of particular crystal faces, dictating growth along preferred crystallographic directions. Broad operational windows for electrochemical reactions coupled with their inherent ionic nature facilitate the electrodeposition of alloys and semiconductors inaccessible to classical means and