Highly efficient trimerization of isobutene over silica supported chloroaluminate ionic liquid using C4 feed

Ionic Liquids in Metal, Photo-, Electro-, and (Bio) Catalysis

Ionic liquids (ILs) have unique physicochemical properties that make them advantageous for catalysis, such as low vapor pressure, non-flammability, high thermal and chemical stabilities, and the ability to enhance the activity and stability of (bio)catalysts. ILs can improve the efficiency, selectivity, and sustainability of bio(transformations) by acting as activators of enzymes, selectively dissolving substrates and products, and reducing toxicity. They can also be recycled and reused multiple times without losing their effectiveness. ILs based on imidazolium cation are preferred for structural organization aspects, with a semiorganized layer surrounding the catalyst. ILs act as a container, providing a confined space that allows modulation of electronic and geometric effects, miscibility of reactants and products, and residence time of species. ILs can stabilize ionic and radical species and control the catalytic activity of dynamic processes. Supported IL phase (SILP) derivatives and polymeric ILs (PILs) are good options for molecular engineering of greener catalytic processes. The major factors governing metal, photo-, electro-, and biocatalysts in ILs are discussed in detail based on the vast literature available over the past two and a half decades. Catalytic reactions, ranging from hydrogenation and cross-coupling to oxidations, promoted by homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts in both single and multiphase conditions, are extensively reviewed and discussed considering the knowledge accumulated until now.

Effect of Pore Confinement of Ionic Liquids on Solute Diffusion within Mesoporous Silica Microparticles

The transport properties of the ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIM][PF6]) confined within silica microparticles with well-ordered, accessible mesopores (5.4 or 9 nm diameter) were investigated. [BMIM][PF6] confinement was confirmed by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The transport properties of the confined IL were studied using the neutral and cationic fluorescent probes 4-(dicyanomethylene)-2-methyl-6-(4-dimethylaminostyryl)-4H-pyran (DCM) and rhodamine 6G, respectively, through fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) in confocal microscopy. The diffusivity of DCM in 9 nm pores is 0.026 ± 0.0091 μm2/s, which is 2 orders of magnitude less than in the bulk ionic liquid. The pore size did not affect the diffusivity of DCM in unmodified silica nanopores. The diffusivity of the cationic probe is reduced by 63% relative to that of the neutral probe. Diffusivity is increased with water content, where equilibrium hydration of the system leads to a 37% increase in DCM diffusivity. The most dramatic impact on diffusivity was caused by tethering an IL-like methylimidazolium chloride group to the pores, which increased the pore hydrophobicity and resulted in 3-fold higher diffusivity of DCM compared to bare silica pores. Subsequent exchange of the chloride anion from the tethering group with PF6- decreased the diffusivity to half that of bare silica. The diffusion of probe molecules is affected most strongly by the pore wall effects on probe interactions rather than by the pore size itself, which suggests that understanding pore wall diffusion is critical to the design of nanoconfined ILs for separations, catalysis, and energy storage.

Gallium(III)- and Indium(III)-Containing Ionic Liquids as Highly Active Catalysts in Organic Synthesis

The chemical industry still requires development of environmentally friendly processes. Acid-catalysed chemical processes may cause environmental problems. Urgent need to replace conventional acids has forced the search for sustainable alternatives. Metal-containing ionic liquids have drawn considerable attention from scientists for many years. These compounds may exhibit very high Lewis acidity, which is usually dependent on the composition of the ionic liquid with the particular content of metal salt. Therefore, metal-containing ionic liquids have found a lot of applications and are successfully employed as catalysts, co-catalysts or reaction media in various fields of chemistry, especially in organic chemistry. Gallium(III)- and indium(III)-containing ionic liquids help to transfer the remarkable activity of metal salts into even more active and easier-to-handle forms of ionic liquids. This review highlights the wide range of possible applications and the high potential of metal-containing ionic liquids with special focus on Ga(III) and In(III), which may help to outline the framework for further development of the presented research topic and synthesis of new representatives of this group of compounds.

Silica-Based Supported Ionic Liquid-like Phases as Heterogeneous Catalysts

Supported ionic liquid phases offer several advantages related with catalysis. Immobilization of ionic liquid on the solid support provides catalytic activity or efficient matrix for active phases, as enzymes or metal compounds. Ionic liquid can be physically adsorbed on the carrier (supported ionic liquid phase) or chemically grafted to the material surface (supported ionic liquid-like phase). The use of supported ionic liquid phases improves mass transport, reduces ionic amount in the process and, most importantly, enables effortless catalyst separation and recycling. Moreover, chemical modification of the surface material with ionic liquid prevents its leaching, enhancing length of catalyst life. Silica-based materials have become an effective and powerful matrix for supported ionic liquid-like phase due to its cost-efficiency, presence of hydroxyl groups on the surface enabling its functionalization, and specific material properties, such as the size and shapes of the pores. For these reasons, supported ionic liquid-like phase silica-based materials are successfully used in the organic catalysis.

Preparation of catalytic materials using ionic liquids as the media and functional components

Ionic liquids (ILs) have attracted much attention due to their unique properties and wide application potential in a variety of fields. The unusual properties of ILs provide numerous opportunities to design and prepare arious advanced materials, including highly efficient catalysts. In recent years, synthesis of different kinds of catalytic materials and their applications in chemical reactions have been studied extensively and have become a very interesting area. Herein, we present a review on the synthesis of catalytic materials using ILs as the media and/or functional components; the important and widely investigated topics are discussed, including mainly metal nanocatalysts/IL, functional IL/support, metals or metal oxides/IL/support, polymeric ILs (PILs) catalysts, and the performances of catalytic systems are highlighted. An outlook for this interesting area is also given at the end of the article.

The use of supported acidic ionic liquids in organic synthesis

Catalysts obtained by the immobilisation of acidic ionic liquids (ILs) on solid supports offer several advantages compared to the use of catalytically active ILs themselves. Immobilisation may result in an increase in the number of accessible active sites of the catalyst and a reduction of the amount of the IL required. The ionic liquid films on the carrier surfaces provide a homogeneous environment for catalytic reactions but the catalyst appears macroscopically as a dry solid, so it can simply be separated from the reaction mixture. As another advantage, it can easily be applied in a continuous fixed bed reactor. In the present review the main synthetic strategies towards the preparation of supported Lewis acidic and Brønsted acidic ILs are summarised. The most important characterisation methods and structural features of the supported ionic liquids are presented. Their efficiency in catalytic reactions is discussed with special emphasis on their recyclability.