Recent advances in cardanol chemistry in a nutshell: from a nut to nanomaterials

Chem Soc Rev. 2013 Jan 21;42(2):427-38. doi: 10.1039/c2cs35344j.

Abstract

This tutorial review could serve as an introduction of cardanol into the world of soft nanomaterials; it is a biobased lipid-mixture obtained from the plant Anacardium occidentale L. Cardanol is a renewable raw material derived from a byproduct of cashew nut processing industry: Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL). Cardanol is a rich mixture of non-isoprenoic phenolic compounds that is a valuable raw material for generating a variety of soft nanomaterials such as nanotubes, nanofibers, gels and surfactants. These nanostructures may then serve as templates for the synthesis of additional nanomaterials. The wealth and diversity of cardanol-derived functional nanomaterials has urged us to present an article that will give readers a taste of a new class of cardanol-derived functional amphiphiles, along with their ability to generate hierarchical functional nanomaterials through non-covalent soft-chemical routes. In this concise review, we discuss selected examples of novel biobased surfactants, glycolipids, and polymers derived from cardanol, and their subsequent self-assembly into functional soft materials.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Anacardium / chemistry*
  • Gels / chemistry
  • Liquid Crystals / chemistry
  • Nanostructures / chemistry*
  • Nanostructures / ultrastructure
  • Nuts / chemistry*
  • Phenols / chemistry*
  • Surface-Active Agents / chemistry

Substances

  • Gels
  • Phenols
  • Surface-Active Agents
  • cardanol