On the importance of the nature of the ionic liquids in the selective simultaneous separation of the substrates and products of a transesterification reaction through supported ionic liquid membranes

Previously, we reported the selective simultaneous separation of the substrates and products of a transesterification reaction (vinyl butyrate, 1-butanol, butyl butyrate, and butyric acid) through supported liquid membranes (SLMs) based on two ionic liquids (ILs): 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, bmim⁺]PF₆⁻], and 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, omim⁺]PF₆⁻]. The significant differences observed in the selectivity values, attributed to the different nature of the ionic liquid phase used, led us to further investigate this matter.