abstract
Ionic liquids (ILs), being related to the design of new environmentally friendly solvents, are widely considered for applications within the ?green chemistry? concept. Due to their unique properties and wide diversity, ILs allow tailoring new separation procedures and producing new materials for advanced applications. However, despite the promising technical performance, environmental concerns highlighted in recent studies focused on the toxicity and biodegradability of ILs and their metabolites have revealed that ILs safety labels are not as benign as previously claimed. This review refers to the fundamentals about the properties and applications of ILs also in the context of their potential environmental effect. Toxicological issues and harmful effects related to the use of ILs are discussed, including the evaluation of their biodegradability and ecological impact on diverse organisms and ecosystems, also with respect to bacteria, fungi, and cell cultures. In addition, this review covers the tools used to assess the toxicity of ILs, including the predictive computational models and the results of studies involving cell membrane models and molecular simulations. Summing up the knowledge available so far, there are still no reliable criteria for unequivocal attribution of toxicity and environmental impact credentials for ILs, which is a challenging research task.
keywords
ADVANCED OXIDATION PROCESSES; OF-THE-ART; FUNCTIONALIZED SIDE-CHAINS; WHEAT TRITICUM-AESTIVUM; ZEBRAFISH DANIO-RERIO; PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES; 1-BUTYL-3-METHYLIMIDAZOLIUM CHLORIDE; ACUTE TOXICITY; DIFFERENT ANIONS; THERMOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES
subject category
Engineering, Environmental; Environmental Sciences
authors
Magina, S; Barros-Timmons, A; Ventura, SPM; Evtuguin, DV
our authors
Ana Margarida Madeira Viegas de Barros Timmons
Associate Professor
Dmitry Evtyugin
Associate Professor with Aggregation
Sandra Pereira Magina
Researcher
Sónia Patrícia Marques Ventura
Assistant Professoracknowledgements
This work was developed within the scope of the project CICECOAveiro Institute of Materials, UIDB/50011/2020 & UIDP/50011/2020, financed by national funds through the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) /Portuguese Government Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education (MCTES) . Sandra Magina acknowledges FCT for the PhD grant SFRH/BD/121275/2016.