ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering最新文献

Dehydration of sorbitol catalyzed by inorganic acids has been regarded as an efficient way to produce isosorbide, which shows application in the manufacture of various high value-added compounds. However, these catalysts can cause equipment corrosion and are not recyclable. As a cheap and environmentally friendly catalyst with special tunability and stability, a deep eutectic solvent (DES) composed of p-toluenesulfonic acid (p-TSA) and choline chloride (ChCl) has emerged to meet the demand for “green production” of isosorbide. The conditions for the dehydration of sorbitol catalyzed by DESs were systematically investigated. The differences in catalytic efficiency stemming from the structural diversity of DESs were explored by FT-IR characterization and molecular dynamics simulation. The results showed that isosorbide exhibited notable selectivity (88%) within the DESs (p-TSA:ChCl = 1.2), and achieved a high extraction rate (83%) under the synergistic effect of ethyl acetate and acetone (4:1). MD simulations indicated that hydrogen bonding was the dominant factor influencing the catalytic activity. The theoretical understanding of the p-TSA/ChCl structure may provide a reference for the tunability of novel DESs to meet the requirements of catalysis, absorption, and extraction.

The need for low-viscosity and sustainable lubricants has always been urgent for the application of complex materials and the improvement of machining accuracy requirements. As a kind of lubricating material with the characteristics of easy preparation and designable structure, deep eutectic solvent (DES) shows excellent performance controllability and good application potential. Herein, a series of phosphate menthol DESs (P-DL) were designed and prepared as high-performance lubricants. The results of their physicochemical properties show that the synthesized DESs exhibit low viscosity and superhydrophilicity, providing more efficient adsorption and interfacial self-assembly behavior. Additionally, enhanced corrosion resistance and thermal stability are conducive to their chemical stability during shearing. In terms of tribological properties, P-DL exhibits optimal friction-reducing and antiwear properties, along with load-bearing performance. More importantly, excellent lubrication stability can be obtained even under more stringent and diverse test conditions, indicating the universality and great engineering application potential of these materials as sustainable lubricants. More hydrogen bond donors, longer alkyl chains, and suitable branched structures have a positive effect concerning the comprehensive function. Besides, the synergistic effect of superhydrophilicity, polar adsorption, and tribochemical reaction is the key factor for the robust lubrication performance. In addition, easy preparation, high-performance, and sustainability all provide great application potential for these lubricants. Meanwhile, this chemically designed lubricant optimization strategy with adjustable performance also provides theoretical guidance for the development and enrichment of sustainable lubrication technology.

The development of environmentally friendly WPUs with sustainable biobased feedstock, repairability, recyclability, and multifunctionality is highly attractive and desirable. Herein, a vanillin-based polyol (VP) containing dynamic Schiff base bonds was synthesized via a one-step reaction. The rigid VP was combined with flexible castor oil, acting as polyols, to produce biobased waterborne polyurethanes (BWPU). The obtained BWPU material simultaneously possessed tunable mechanical properties (tensile strength up to 11.49 MPa, elongation at break reached 169.04%), high thermal stability (T₅ > 240 °C), self-healing properties (20 min at 150 °C), remolding properties (3 h at 150 °C), and chemical degradation properties (1 mol/L HCl solution), demonstrating excellent in-service performance and an attractive closed-loop recycling feature. Interestingly, the BWPU material exhibited obvious fluorescent properties, which can be used as fluorescent ink for information security. Furthermore, by incorporating conductive Ag nanowires, the potential application of BWPU as wearable flexible sensors was explored, and the prepared AgNW/BWPU flexible pressure sensors exhibited sensitive sensing ability with quick responsiveness (100 ms), which can be used to monitor both subtle movements and large human movements. This work provides a strategy for achieving repairable and recyclable BWPU with fluorescence and sensing properties.