Pyrrole synthesis in ionic liquids by Paal-Knorr condensation under mild conditions

Paal-Knorr condensation of 2,5-hexandione with primary amines was successfully carried out in ionic liquids. Through investigating different ionic liquids, different reaction times, the reaction, using ionic liquids as solvent, exhibited simple product isolation procedure, improved yields and exclusive selectivity and the mild conditions and the avoidance of using toxic catalysts are also its special features. Recovery and reuse of ionic liquid are also satisfactory.     

Hydroxyl ionic liquid (HIL)-immobilized quinuclidine for Baylis-Hillman catalysis: synergistic effect of ionic liquids as organocatalyst supports

Hydroxyl ionic liquid (HIL) has been explored as a novel support for Baylis-Hillman catalyst. The HIL-supported catalyst showed a better catalytic activity compared to other IL-immobilized catalyst that has no hydroxyl group attached to the IL scaffold. The hydroxyl group linked on IL played an important role in facilitating efficient catalysis under solvent-free conditions. The corresponding Baylis-Hillman and aza-Baylis-Hillman adducts were obtained in good to excellent yields in all cases examined. The HIL-supported quinuclidine can be readily recovered and reused for six times without significant loss of catalytic activity.     

Three-component coupling reactions in ionic liquids: One-pot synthesis of isoxazolidines

1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium based ionic liquids are found to accelerate significantly the intermolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrones derived in situ from aldehydes and phenyl hydroxylamine, with electron deficient olefins to afford enhanced rates and improved yields of isoxazolidines with high regio- and diastereoselectivity.     

Dynamically coated silica monolith with ionic liquids for capillary electrochromatography

An ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([BMIM][BF4]) was introduced as dynamic coating of a silica monolithic column for capillary electrochromatography of phenols and nucleoside monophosphates. The run-to-run and column-to-column repeatability of migration time for six phenols were satisfactory on this column with relative standard deviation values less than 0.90 and 4.31%, respectively. Anodic electroosmotic flow (EOF) was observed, which increased with the increase of [BMIM][BF4] concentration within 120 mM and when [BMIM][BF4] concentration was above 120 mM, EOF leveled off due to the saturation of [BMIM][BF4] on the monolith. Efficient separation of phenols and nucleoside monophosphates on this dynamically coated monolithic column was obtained, compared with a dynamically coated fused-silica column and unmodified silica monolithic column. The retention behavior of uncharged phenols is mainly manipulated by hydrophobic interactions due to the presence of butyl groups, and that of nucleoside monophosphates is governed by the electrostatic attraction mechanism based on the interaction between positively charged [BMIM][BF4] moieties and negatively charged phosphate groups. In addition, silica matrix also contributes to the separation resolution.     

Protic metal-containing ionic liquids as catalysts: Cooperative effects between anion and cation

HCo(CO)₄ is known to be the active species in the cobalt-catalyzed hydroformylation reaction. Although it is known that the anion [Co(CO)₄]⁻ is catalytically inactive, some cobalt carbonyl-containing ionic liquids are surprisingly able to catalyze hydroformylation reactions. However, only ionic liquids with protic cations demonstrate activity, whilst aprotic cations such as BMIM⁺ result in a completely inactive compound. The four applied cobalt-containing ionic liquids differ only by the cation component. Their different performance in catalytic activity allows the presumption of cooperative effects between the cation and the anion. These fundamental influences of the cation on the hydroformylation kinetics give hints for the reaction mechanism of biphasic hydroformylation reactions as well as on the reaction pathways of the conventional hydroformylation reaction under different reaction conditions.     

Searching for molecular arene hydrogenation catalysis in ionic liquids

Arene hydrogenation by homogeneous catalysts is a highly controversial area of research, with many of the mononuclear complexes shown to catalyse the reaction, being found to be pre-catalysts to nanoparticles, on closer examination. The solvent properties of ionic liquids, i.e., low nucleophilicity and high polarity, make them ideal, at least in principal, for homogeneous arene hydrogenation catalysts. In this paper, we described our attempts to prepare and study such systems, using either simple metal halides or ruthenium complexes including trinuclear ruthenium clusters as catalyst precursors.     

Catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation of aromatic ketones in room temperature ionic liquids

Polar bisphosphonic acid-derived Ru(BINAP)(DPEN)Cl₂ precatalysts were synthesized and immobilized in room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) for asymmetric hydrogenation of aromatic ketones with ee values of up to 98.7%. The performance of the Ru catalysts is highly dependent on the nature of imidazolium ILs. For the imidazolium ILs without acidic protons, both ILs and Ru catalysts were recycled by simple extraction and reused. Such a simple immobilization approach also prevented the leaching of Ru (and Ru catalysts) into the chiral secondary alcohol products, and should prove desirable for the production of pharmaceutical intermediates that are free from metal contaminants.     

Novel and efficient multifunctional periodic mesoporous organosilica supported benzotriazolium ionic liquids for reusable synthesis of 2,4,5-trisubstituted imidazoles

A series of periodic mesoporous organosilica supported benzotriazolium ionic liquids were synthesized and tested as effective and practical heterogeneous catalysts in the condensation reaction of diphenylethanedione, aromatic aldehydes and ammonium acetate. The catalyst PMO@ILBF4(1.0) showed brilliant catalytic activity for the synthesis of 2,4,5-trisubstituted imidazoles with good to high yields. We also found that the catalytic activity could be significantly influenced by the loading levels and functional anions of the benzotriazolium-cation ionic liquid, probably due to an intensification of intramolecular synergistic effect. Furthermore, the multifunctional catalyst PMO@ILBF4(1.0) could be easily recovered by filtration and recycled for six times with no significant loss in activity, indicating its excellent stability and reusability. This method provides an efficient and environmentally-friendly procedure for the production of 2,4,5-trisubstituted imidazoles.     

Porous texture of silica aerogels made with ionic liquids as gelation catalysts

The effect of four ionic liquids on the porous texture of silica aerogels synthesized from mixed tetramethoxysilane and methyltrimethoxysilane and dried by the CO₂ supercritical method, was studied. Two of these ionic liquids were composed of BF₄ ⁻ anions while the other two included Cl⁻ anions. The synthesis of gels from ionic liquids did not require another acidic catalyst for silica hydrolysis, nor a basic catalyst for silica condensation. These aerogels were compared with traditional aerogels made according to a double step catalysis, which first involved hydrolysis with HCl followed by condensation with pH 9 Tris HCl buffer. Gel mass analysis and thermogravimetric data showed that, when the initial molar of ionic liquid to Si was 1.58, only ~2% (by mass) of the initial ionic liquids consisting of BF₄ ⁻ anions and ~10% (by mass) of ionic liquids containing Cl⁻ anions, remained in the aerogels after supercritical drying. Moreover, X-ray diffraction confirmed that in ionic liquids based on BF₄ ⁻ anions, evaporation of the volatile components before supercritical CO₂ drying led to the formation of regularly ordered mesopores.     

Iron catalyzed Michael addition: Chloroferrate ionic liquids as efficient catalysts under microwave conditions

The iron containing ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrachloroferrate ([C4mim]Cl/FeCl3; = 0.5) proved to be an efficient catalyst for the solvent-free metal catalyzed Michael addition of β-keto esters and enones. Due to the ionic structure of the catalyst, a significant acceleration of the reaction rate was observed under microwave conditions. Furthermore, recycling of the ionic liquid catalyst could be performed after simply distilling off the products.     

Immobilized ionic liquid on superparamagnetic nanoparticles as an effective catalyst for the synthesis of tetrasubstituted imidazoles under solvent-free conditions and microwave irradiation

The ionic liquid 1-methyl-3-(3-trimethoxysilylpropyl) imidazolium chloride was immobilized on superparamagnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (IL-MNPs) and used as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for the one-pot synthesis of 1,2,4,5-tetrasubstituted imidazoles under solvent-free conditions using microwave irradiation. The reactions in conventional heating conditions were compared with the microwave-assisted reactions. The combined merits of microwave irradiation and immobilized ionic liquid on superparamagnetic nanoparticles make the four-component condensation with safe operation, low pollution, and rapid access to products and simple work-up.     

Microwave-assisted heteropolyanion-based ionic liquids catalyzed transamidation of non-activated carboxamides with amines under solvent-free conditions

An environmentally benign and highly efficient protocol for the transamidation of non-activated carboxamides with amines using heteropolyanion-based ionic liquids as catalysts under microwave-assisted and solvent-free conditions has been developed. As evaluated by the reactions of a structurally diverse set of amides and amines, the scope and utility of the transamidation proved to be quite general. Operational simplicity, solvent-free media, the potential reusability of catalysts and wide functional group tolerance are attractive features. This method provides a much improved protocol over the existing methods.     

Multifunctional periodic mesoporous organosilica supported dual imidazolium ionic liquids as novel and efficient catalysts for heterogeneous Knoevenagel condensation

A type of multifunctional periodic mesoporous organosilica supported dual imidazolium ionic liquids PMO-IL-anion have been designed and prepared, characterized and evaluated as heterogeneous catalysts for the Knoevenagel condensation. The as-fabricated supported ionic liquids show good catalytic performances in the Knoevenagel condensation at room temperature, especially the supported ionic liquids PMO-IL-NTf₂ and PMO-IL-PF₆, based on a synergetic effect between the Lewis-base-type sites of dual functionalized imidazolium ionic liquids and active sites of periodic mesoporous organosilica. The best catalytic performance over PMO-IL-NTf₂ was observed with excellent yields of 93～99% in a short time of 20～30 min. In addition, the heterogeneous catalyst offers simple operation for recovery and the recycling test showed that it could be reused for five times without significant loss of catalytic activity, thus making this process economical and environmental-friendly.     

DABCO-based ionic liquids:Green and efficient catalysts with a dual catalytic role for aza-Michael addition

Four recoverable and reusable ionic liquids based on 1,4-diazobicyclo[2.2.2]octane(DABCO) have been synthesized to catalyze the aza-Michael addition of secondary amines to a,b-unsaturated compounds.Among the catalysts tested,[DABCO-PDO][OAc] was found to be most suitable for the reaction of a wide range of cyclic substrates without any solvent at room temperature,and afford the products in good to excellent yields within an appropriate amount of time.The proposed mechanism for the dual activation of the catalyst was supported by experimental results as well as the DFT calculation.In addition,the ionic liquids used can be regenerated and recycled several times without any loss of activity.     

Functionalized ionic liquid modified mesoporous silica SBA-15: a novel, designable and efficient carrier for porcine pancreas lipase

A series of functionalized ionic liquid modified mesoporous silicas SBA-15 (FIL-SBA) were synthesized by modulating the loading and cation/anion ratio of the functionalized ionic liquid (FIL). The prepared materials FIL-SBA were used as a novel carrier system to immobilize porcine pancreas lipase (PPL). Enzymatic activity and reusability of the immobilized enzyme were investigated using the triacetin hydrolysis reaction. The combined advantages of the nano-sized pore diameter, large surface area and high pore volume of SBA-15, and the tunable properties of the FIL for enzymes immobilized in FIL-SBA gave a maximum improvement of 570% in relative activity, with 63% retention of initial activity after five cycles of use. Carriers and immobilized enzymes were characterized using nitrogen adsorption, small-angle X-ray diffraction (SXRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), elemental analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM). It was shown that the introduction of FIL influenced the catalytic behavior of PPL significantly by changing the structure and surface properties of the carriers.     

Application of ionic liquids as low-volatility plasticizers for PMMA

Room temperature ionic liquids (ILs) based on imidazolium salts, were found to be excellent plasticizers for poly(methyl methacrylate), with improved thermal stability, and the ability to reduce glass transition temperatures to near 0 °C. Because ILs have environmentally benign properties, they can be used in place of traditional chemicals in numerous products and processes. In this work, PMMA was formulated using dioctyl phthalate, DOP, as a traditional plasticizer, and properties were compared to PMMA plasticized with two ILs: butyl methylimidazolium/hexafluorophosphate, [bmim⁺][PF₆⁻], and hexyl methylimidazolium/hexafluorophosphate, [hmim⁺][PF₆⁻]. Formulations incorporated up to 30 vol.% DOP and 50 vol.% ILs. Bulk and plasticized polymers were characterized for glass transition temperature, elastic modulus, and the thermal stability of the plasticizers.     

Catalysis by ionic liquids: cyclopropyl carbinyl rearrangements catalyzed by [pmim]Br under organic solvent free conditions

Aryl substituted cyclopropyl carbinol derivatives undergo stereoselective rearrangements catalyzed by the ionic liquid, 1-methyl-3-pentylimidazolium bromide, under sonication, without any organic solvent, to produce the substituted conjugated all-trans-butadienes.     

An eco-benign and highly efficient procedure for N-acylation catalyzed by heteropolyanion-based ionic liquids using carboxylic acid under solvent-free conditions

An eco-benign and highly efficient route for N-acylation of amines has been developed by treating amines with corresponding carboxylic acids in the presence of 2 mol % of heteropolyanion-based ionic liquids as catalysts under solvent-free conditions. This practical reaction could tolerate a wide range of substrates. Thus, various N-acylation products including N-acyl α-amino acid derivatives were obtained in moderate to excellent yields at 70 °C to 120 °C. Moreover, recycling studies revealed that heteropolyanion-based ionic liquids were easily reusable for this N-acylation. This method provides a green and much improved protocol over the existing methods.     

The first example of hydrozirconation of alkynes in room temperature ionic liquids

Hydrozirconation of terminal alkynes in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF₆]) at 30 °C gave highly regio- and stereoselectively (E)-vinylzirconium complexes, which underwent a cross-coupling reaction with aryl halides in the presence of Pd(PPh₃)₄ to afford (E)-1,2-disubstituted ethenes in good to high yields. Our system not only avoids the use of easily volatile THF or CH₂Cl₂ as solvent but also solves the basic problem of palladium catalyst reuse.     

The preparation of silica entrapped homogeneous hydrogenation catalysts by conventional and ionic liquid mediated sol-gel routes

[RhCl(PPh₃)₃] has been entrapped inside silica matrices by two methods: a conventional sol-gel synthesis in ethanol/water and a new route performed in an ionic liquid. The activity of these heterogenised catalysts has been tested for the hydrogenation of styrene. The catalyst prepared in an ionic liquid was found to be more active and have low Rh leaching.