Ionic Liquids-Based Aqueous Biphasic Systems with Citrate Biodegradable Salts

Abstract

New ionic liquids aqueous biphasic systems (ABS) containing the imidazolium and pyrrolodinium cation combined with dicyanamide anion and citrate organic salts are investigated. Several ionic liquids (five in total) were evaluated toward their capacity to create aqueous biphasic systems in the presence of two low environmental impact organic salts: potassium and sodium citrate. The capacity of these ILs to form two liquid phases is discussed regarding the alkyl chain length and the cation core of the IL. Besides, the effect of the citrate salt on the phase behavior has been also addressed. To study the capacity of the ABS the binodal curves were determined at T = 298.15 K and atmospheric pressure. Finally, a comparison between the experimental results obtained here and the literature values was carried out.