Influence of Structural Variations in Cationic and Anionic Moieties on the Polarity of Ionic Liquids

Impact of ionic liquid properties on selective enrichment of glycerides in direct lipase-catalyzed esterification

The direct lipase-catalyzed esterification of oleic acid and glycerol was studied in ionic liquids in order to deduce the effects of solvent properties such as viscosity, E_N^T, log P and Kamlet–Taft parameters on selective enrichment of glycerides.

Molecular interactions between ammonium-based ionic liquids and molecular solvents: current progress and challenges

In this perspective, we describe how the thermodynamic parameters can be effectively used to gain valuable insights into molecular interactions between ammonium-based ILs and molecular solvents, which would be most useful in various industries.

Deviation of polarity from linearity in liquid mixtures containing an ionic liquid

The physico-chemical properties of liquid mixtures, in general, exhibit deviations from linear behaviour with respect to their composition, arising out of different types of cross-intermolecular interactions (both specific and non-specific). These specific and non-specific interactions can however be monitored to obtain the linear mixing in liquid mixtures using the pseudo-solvent methodology in such a manner that the interactions causing deviations from linearity are cancelled out and mixtures display linear behaviour.

[N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone][C1-C4 carboxylic acid]: a novel solvent system with exceptional lignin solubility

Novel solvent systems composed of N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and C1-C4 carboxylic acid exhibit unique physicochemical properties, e.g. large polarity, low viscosity and excellent hydrogen bonding capacity, which have demonstrated excellent lignin solubility that outperforms conventional solvents and ionic liquids.

Overview of the effect of salts on biphasic ionic liquid/water solvent extraction systems: anion exchange, mutual solubility, and thermomorphic properties

Hydrophobic (water-immiscible) ionic liquids (ILs) are frequently used as organic phase in solvent extraction studies. These biphasic IL/water extraction systems often also contain metal salts or mineral acids, which can significantly affect the IL trough (un)wanted anion exchange and changes in the solubility of IL in the aqueous phase. In the case of thermomorphic systems, variations in the cloud point temperature are also observed. All these effects have important repercussions on the choice of IL, suitable for a certain extraction system. In this paper, a complete overview of the implications of metal salts on biphasic IL/water systems is given. Using the Hofmeister series as a starting point, a range of intuitive prediction models are introduced, supported by experimental evidence for several hydrophobic ILs, relevant to solvent extraction. Particular emphasis is placed on the IL betainium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [Hbet][Tf2N]. The aim of this work is to provide a comprehensive interpretation of the observed effects of metal salts, so that it can be used to predict the effect on any given biphasic IL/water system instead of relying on case-by-case reports. These prediction tools for the impact of metal salts can be useful to optimize IL synthesis procedures, extraction systems and thermomorphic properties. Some new insights are also provided for the rational design of ILs with UCST or LCST behavior based on the choice of IL anion.

Kinetic and mechanistic investigations of the Baylis–Hillman reaction in ionic liquids

We report here a quantitative study of the kinetics and mechanism of the Baylis–Hillman reaction in the presence of ionic liquids as solvent media.

Ionic liquids: anion effect on the reaction of O,O-diethyl O-(2,4-dinitrophenyl) phosphate triester with piperidine

The ionic liquids can be considered as designer solvents in the titled reaction because by an appropriate choice of the anion it is possible to steer the selectivity of this reaction.

Solvent-mediated molar conductivity of protic ionic liquids

The molar conductivity, Λ_m, of protic ionic liquids (PILs) in molecular solvents is measured at 298.15 K.

Dual functionalized task specific ionic liquid promoted in situ generation of palladium nanoparticles in water: synergic catalytic system for Suzuki–Miyaura cross coupling

A new task specific ionic liquid with hydroxyl and prolinate functionalities acts as a reducing agent and serves as a ligand and stabilizer for in situ formed palladium nanoparticles. This system displays high catalytic activity for Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling in water.

Elucidation of inorganic reaction mechanisms in ionic liquids: the important role of solvent donor and acceptor properties

In this article, we focus on the important role of solvent donor and acceptor properties of ionic liquids in the elucidation of inorganic reaction mechanisms. For this purpose, mechanistic and structural studies on typical inorganic reactions, performed in ionic liquids, have been conducted. The presented systems range from simple complex-formation and ligand-substitution reactions to the activation of small molecules by catalytically active complexes. The data obtained for the reactions in ionic liquids are compared with those for the same reactions carried out in conventional solvents, and are discussed with respect to the donor and acceptor properties of the applied ionic liquids. The intention of this perspective is to gain more insight into the role of ILs as solvents and their interaction with metal ions and complexes in solution.

Extended scale for the hydrogen-bond basicity of ionic liquids

In the past decade, ionic liquids (ILs) have been the focus of intensive research regarding their use as potential and alternative solvents in many chemical applications. Targeting their effectiveness, recent investigations have attempted to establish polarity scales capable of ranking ILs according to their chemical behaviours. However, some major drawbacks have been found since polarity scales only report relative ranks because they depend on the set of probe dyes used, and they are sensitive to measurement conditions, such as purity levels of the ILs and procedures employed. Due to all these difficulties it is of crucial importance to find alternative and/or predictive methods and to evaluate them as a priori approaches capable of providing the chemical properties of ILs. Furthermore, the large number of ILs available makes their experimental characterization, usually achieved by a trial and error methodology, burdensome. In this context, we firstly evaluated COSMO-RS, COnductor-like Screening MOdel for Real Solvents, as an alternative tool to estimate the hydrogen-bond basicity of ILs. After demonstrating a straight-line correlation between the experimental hydrogen-bond basicity values and the COSMO-RS hydrogen-bonding energies in equimolar cation-anion pairs, an extended scale for the hydrogen-bond accepting ability of IL anions is proposed here. This new ranking of the ILs' chemical properties opens the possibility to pre-screen appropriate ILs (even those not yet synthesized) for a given task or application.

Influence of hydroxyl group position and temperature on thermophysical properties of tetraalkylammonium hydroxide ionic liquids with alcohols

In this work, we have explored the thermophysical properties of tetraalkylammonium hydroxide ionic liquids (ILs) such as tetrapropylammonium hydroxide (TPAH) and tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (TBAH) with isomers of butanol (1-butanol, 2-butanol and 2-methyl-2-propanol) within the temperature range 293.15-313.15 K, with interval of 5 K and over the varied concentration range of ILs. The molecular interactions between ILs and butanol isomers are essential for understanding the function of ILs in related measures and excess functions are sensitive probe for the molecular interactions. Therefore, we calculated the excess molar volume (V(E) ) and the deviation in isentropic compressibility (Δκs ) using the experimental values such as densities (ρ) and ultrasonic sound velocities (u) that are measured over the whole compositions range at five different temperatures (293.15, 298.15, 303.15, 308.15 and 313.15 K) and atmospheric pressure. These excess functions were adequately correlated by using the Redlich-Kister polynomial equation. It was observed that for all studied systems, the V(E) and Δκs values are negative for the whole composition range at 293.15 K. And, the excess function follows the sequence: 2-butanol>1-butanol>2-methyl-2-propanol, which reveals that (primary or secondary or tertiary) position of hydroxyl group influence the magnitude of interactions with ILs. The negative values of excess functions are contributions from the ion-dipole interaction, hydrogen bonding and packing efficiency between the ILs and butanol isomers. Hence, the position of hydroxyl group plays an important role in the interactions with ILs. The hydrogen bonding features between ILs and alcohols were analysed using molecular modelling program by using HyperChem 7.

Functionalized phosphonium based ionic liquids: properties and application in metal extraction

Trioctyl(2,3-dihydroxypropyl) and trioctyl(4-vinylbenzyl) phosphonium based ILs have been used with success as hydrophobic polar extraction media for metal ions recover from water.

Cryo-solvatochromism in ionic liquids

The colour changing temperature of the thermo-solvatochromic solution of a chloro-nickel complex, di-(1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium) tetrachloronickelate, [bmim]₂NiCl₄ (0.14 mol L⁻¹ in the photograph), in 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, [C₂OHmim]BF₄, can be continuously decreased from above room temperature to well below 0 °C simply by addition of excess [bmim]Cl (1.4 mol L⁻¹ in the photograph), bringing about unprecedented cryo-solvatochromism in ionic liquids.

Influence of reactive oxygen species on the enzyme stability and activity in the presence of ionic liquids

In this paper, we have examined the effect of ammonium and imidazolium based ionic liquids (ILs) on the stability and activity of proteolytic enzyme α-chymotrypsin (CT) in the presence of cold atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ). The present work aims to illustrate the state of art implementing the combined action of ILs and APPJ on the enzyme stability and activity. Our circular dichroism (CD), fluorescence and enzyme activity results of CT have revealed that buffer and all studied ILs {triethylammonium hydrogen sulphate (TEAS) from ammonium family and 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium chloride ([Bmim][Cl]), 1-methylimidazolium chloride ([Mim][Cl]) from imidazolium family} are notable to act as protective agents against the deleterious action of the APPJ, except triethylammonium dihydrogen phosphate (TEAP) ammonium IL. However, TEAP attenuates strongly the deleterious action of reactive oxygen species (ROS) created by APPJ on native structure of CT. Further, TEAP is able to retain the enzymatic activity after APPJ exposure which is absent in all the other systems.This study provides the first combined effect of APPJ and ILs on biomolecules that may generate many theoretical and experimental opportunities. Through this methodology, we can utilise both enzyme and plasma simultaneously without affecting the enzyme structure and activity on the material surface; which can prove to be applicable in various fields.

Elucidating interactions and conductivity of newly synthesised low bandgap polymer with protic and aprotic ionic liquids

In this paper, we have examined the conductivity and interaction studies of ammonium and imidazolium based ionic liquids (ILs) with the newly synthesised low bandgap polymer (Poly(2-heptadecyl-4-vinylthieno[3,4-d]thiazole) (PHVTT)). Use of low bandgap polymers is the most suitable way to harvest a broader spectrum of solar radiations for solar cells. But, still there is lack of most efficient low bandgap polymer. In order to solve this problem, we have synthesised a new low bandgap polymer and investigated its interaction with the ILs to enhance its conductivity. ILs may undergo almost unlimited structural variations; these structural variations have attracted extensive attention in polymer studies. The aim of present work is to illustrate the state of art progress of implementing the interaction of ILs (protic and aprotic ILs) with newly synthesised low bandgap polymer. In addition to this, our UV-Vis spectroscopy, confocal Raman spectroscopy and FT-IR spectroscopy results have revealed that all studied ILs (tributylmethylammonium methyl sulfate ([N₁₄₄₄][MeSO₄] from ammonium family) and 1-methylimidazolium chloride ([Mim]Cl, and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Bmim]Cl from imidazolium family) have potential to interact with polymer. Our semi empirical calculation with help of Hyperchem 7 shows that protic IL ([Mim]Cl) interacts strongly with the low bandgap polymer through the H-bonding. Further, protic ILs shows enhanced conductivity than aprotic ILs in association with low bandgap polymer. This study provides the combined effect of low bandgap polymer and ILs that may generate many theoretical and experimental opportunities.

Lewis molecular acidity of ionic liquids from empirical energy-density models

Two complementary models of Lewis molecular acidity are introduced and tested in a wide series of 45 room temperature ionic liquids (RTIL). They are defined in the context of the conceptual density functional theory. The first one, which we tentatively call the excess electronic chemical potential, assesses the electron accepting power of the RTIL by relating the H-bond donor acidity with the charge transfer associated to the acidic H-atom migration at the cation of the RTIL considered as a HB-donor species. This global index accounts for the molecular acidity of the cation moiety of the ionic liquid that takes into account the perturbation of the anionic partner. The second index is defined in terms of the local charge capacity modeled through the maximum electronic charge that the cation, in its valence state, may accept from an unspecified environment. Each model is compared with the experimental HB-donor acidity parameter of the Kamlet Taft model. The best comparison is obtained for a combination of both the excess electronic chemical potential and the local charge capacity. As expected, the correlations with the Kamlet Taft α parameter do not lead to a universal model of HB-donor acidity. Reduced correlations for limited series of structurally related RTIL are obtained instead. Finally, we illustrate the reliability and usefulness of the proposed model of RTIL molecular acidity to explain the cation-dependent solvent effects on the reactivity trends for cycloaddition, Kemp elimination, and Menschutkin reactions, for which experimental rate coefficients are available from literature.

Direct dissolution of wet and saliferous marine microalgae by polar ionic liquids without heating

We successfully dissolved wet and saliferous microalgae (WSM) in polar ionic liquids (ILs) under mild conditions. The Kamlet-Taft parameters, especially β for the ILs, were good predictors of the ability to dissolve WSM. 1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium methylphosphate ([C2mim][MeO(H)PO(2)]) was the IL that best dissolved WSM without heating. WSM (containing 95 wt% water) was mixed with [C2mim][MeO(H)PO(2)]; the WSM had dissolved completely within 30 min at room temperature with gentle stirring. The IL maintained its chemical structure after removal of the microalgae component, suggesting recyclable use. The concentration of contaminant mineral salts in the [C2mim][MeO(H)PO(2)] did not increase with increasing recycle number. The recycled [C2mim][MeO(H)PO(2)] maintained its ability to dissolve WSM regardless of the number of recycling studied here.

Probing the mechanism of Baylis-Hillman reaction in ionic liquids

The kinetic data for a Baylis-Hillman reaction in certain ionic liquids possessing ethylsulfate anion [EtSO(4)](-) demonstrate that the rate determining step (RDS) is second order in aldehyde, but first order in acrylate and DABCO. This observation is similar to the one made by McQuade et al., who carried out this reaction in an aprotic polar solvent like DMSO. However, this is in contrast to the general observation that RDS is first order in aldehyde, acrylate, and DABCO in organic solvents.

Ether- and alcohol-functionalized task-specific ionic liquids: attractive properties and applications

In recent years, the designer nature of ionic liquids (ILs) has driven their exploration and exploitation in countless fields among the physical and chemical sciences. A fair measure of the tremendous attention placed on these fluids has been attributed to their inherent designer nature. And yet, there are relatively few examples of reviews that emphasize this vital aspect in an exhaustive or meaningful way. In this critical review, we systematically survey the physicochemical properties of the collective library of ether- and alcohol-functionalized ILs, highlighting the impact of ionic structure on features such as viscosity, phase behavior/transitions, density, thermostability, electrochemical properties, and polarity (e.g. hydrophilicity, hydrogen bonding capability). In the latter portions of this review, we emphasize the attractive applications of these functionalized ILs across a range of disciplines, including their use as electrolytes or functional fluids for electrochemistry, extractions, biphasic systems, gas separations, carbon capture, carbohydrate dissolution (particularly, the (ligno)celluloses), polymer chemistry, antimicrobial and antielectrostatic agents, organic synthesis, biomolecular stabilization and activation, and nanoscience. Finally, this review discusses anion-functionalized ILs, including sulfur- and oxygen-functionalized analogs, as well as choline-based deep eutectic solvents (DESs), an emerging class of fluids which can be sensibly categorized as semi-molecular cousins to the IL. Finally, the toxicity and biodegradability of ether- and alcohol-functionalized ILs are discussed and cautiously evaluated in light of recent reports. By carefully summarizing literature examples on the properties and applications of oxy-functional designer ILs up till now, it is our intent that this review offers a barometer for gauging future advances in the field as well as a trigger to spur further contemplation of these seemingly inexhaustible and--relative to their potential--virtually untouched fluids. It is abundantly clear that these remarkable fluidic materials are here to stay, just as certain design rules are slowly beginning to emerge. However, in fairness, serendipity also still plays an undeniable role, highlighting the need for both expanded in silico studies and a beacon to attract bright, young researchers to the field (406 references).

Development of a stereoselective Ugi reaction starting from an oxanorbornene β-amino acid derivative

We have synthesised a novel oxanorbornene β-aminoacid derivative and employed it in a stereoselective Ugi reaction. Hypothesis regarding the mechanism taking place during the reaction have been made and validated through the determination of the relative and absolute configuration of the Ugi adducts. Use of the correct choice of solvents can increase stereoselection. The resulting bicyclic peptidomimetics can be used as a novel class of pluripotent substrates to be elaborated according to the synthetic strategies previously elaborated in our laboratories.