Solubilities of p-coumaric and caffeic acid in ionic liquids and organic solvents

The solubilities of two cinnamic acid derivatives, namely p-coumaric acid and caffeic acid, in six 1-alkyl-3-methyl imidazolium based ionic liquids composed of the PF₆⁻, BF₄⁻, TFO⁻ and TF₂N⁻ anions, and in two organic solvents, t-pentanol and ethyl acetate, have been measured at the temperature range of about (303 to 317) K. The p-coumaric acid was found to be more soluble than caffeic acid in all studied solvents. Higher solubilities of both acids were observed in the ionic liquids composed of the BF₄⁻ and TFO⁻ anions. The increase of the alkyl chain length on the cation invokes a decrease in solubility in the case of hydrophilic ionic liquids composed of BF₄⁻ anion, while in the case of hydrophobic ones composed of PF₆⁻ anion an increase in the solubility is observed. Between the two organic solvents t-pentanol is better solvent than ethyl acetate for both acids. Moreover, using the van’t Hoff equations the apparent Gibbs energy, enthalpy, and entropy of solution were calculated. Finally, successful correlation of the experimental data was achieved with the UNIQUAC and the NRTL activity coefficient models, while poor predictions of the solubility of the two acids in the organic solvents were obtained with two UNIFAC models.