A review on the properties and applications of chitosan, cellulose and deep eutectic solvent in green chemistry

Abstract

The concept of green chemistry has attracted attention due to the green synthesis and ecofriendly nature of the compounds leading to the green and sustainable chemical industries and processes. Chitosan is an ecofriendly material, which is biodegradable, non-toxic, and biocompatible. It has the potential to be modified into biofilms for various applications such as biomedical, packaging, and pharmaceutical fields. Nevertheless, some poor properties of chitosan restrict its wide applications. The incorporation of nanocellulose fillers into chitosan matrix can enhance the mechanical and thermal properties of chitosan. Cellulose nanomaterials can be achieved through chemical and mechanical modifications. The common type of nanocellulose are cellulose nanofibers (CNFs), cellulose nano-whiskers (CNWs), tunicate CNCs (t-CNCs), algae cellulose particles (AC) and bacterial cellulose particles (BC). Nanocellulose are applied as the reinforcement fillers in various polymer matrices such as polysaccharides, proteins, lipids, polylactic acid etc. Deep eutectic solvents (DES) are relatively novel green solvents, which can be applied in various fields. DES are widely applied in metal processing, polymer processing and synthesis. Even though there are not much studies available on DES for synthesis of nanocomposite films; however they are used as eco-friendly solvents in manufacturing processes. This study reviews the discovery, structure, properties of chitosan and cellulose, their derivatives and applications. In addition, the paper also discusses the properties of DES and their applications.