Water-induced changes in choline chloride-carboxylic acid deep eutectic solvents properties

Deep eutectic solvents (DES) have become a promising alternative to molecular organic solvents and ionic liquids in a variety of scientific applications. Their customizable physicochemical properties make them attractive for extraction, catalysis, electrochemistry and drug delivery. Recently, the study of not so much DES themselves, as their mixtures with water, has attracted particular interest. In this study, six widely used DESs based on choline chloride and carboxylic acids (citric, tartaric, malic, glycolic, malonic and lactic) with a water content of 0–50 wt% were analyzed. Properties such as density, viscosity, conductivity and spectral properties of DES (IR spectroscopy and refractive index) were studied. The results show that in the entire range of water content under study, there are no abrupt changes in properties for all the studied parameters, which allows us to conclude that water is gradually incorporated into the DES structure without its destruction. However, within this class of eutectic solvents, subclasses can be distinguished, due to various changes in the studied properties. These results provide important information for optimizing the performance of DES in practical applications and highlight their potential as sustainable green solvents in modern science and technology.