Group IIIA Halometallate Ionic Liquids: Speciation and Applications in Catalysis

Friedel-Crafts acylation of benzene derivatives in tunable aryl alkyl ionic liquids (TAAILs)

An iron(III) chloride hexahydrate-catalyzed Friedel-Crafts acylation of benzene derivatives in tunable aryl alkyl ionic liquids (TAAILs) has been developed. Through optimization of the metal salt, reaction conditions and ionic liquids, we were able to design a robust catalyst system that tolerates different electron-rich substrates under ambient atmosphere and allows for a multigram scale.

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.

Recent Advances in Catalytic Oxidation of Organic Sulfides: Applications of Metal–Ionic Liquid Catalytic Systems

Catalytic oxidation of organic sulfides is of considerable significance in industrial chemistry and fuel industry. Therefore, numerous methods have been developed for the oxidation. Metal-containing ionic liquid-based catalysts can catalyze the selective oxidation reactions and are highly used in chemical processes, which have also been used as effective solvents, reaction media, extractants, and catalysts for the oxidation of organic sulfides including oxidative desulfurization of fuel oil. Recently, much attention is being drawn to the preparation of heterogenous catalysts based on the immobilization of metal- or nonmetal-containing ILs on diverse solid supports, which can be easily separated after the completion reaction and recycled. Therefore, there is still an increasing interest in developing new and efficient catalytic procedures for the oxidation of organic sulfides. In this review, we have outlined the recent advances in catalytic oxidation of organic sulfides including oxidative desulfurization of fuel oil. The versatilities and adaptabilities of metal–ionic liquid catalytic systems in the selective oxidation of sulfides are considered a powerful research field in these transformations.

Mixed chloridometallate(ii) ionic liquids with tunable color and optical response for potential ammonia sensors

Eight d-metal-containing N-butylpyridinium-based ionic liquids (ILs) were synthesized, characterized, and investigated for their optical properties.

Luminescent Lead Halide Ionic Liquids for High-Spatial-Resolution Fast Neutron Imaging

The fast neutron imaging technique with recoil proton detection harbors significant potential for imaging of thick, large-scale objects containing high-Z elements. However, the challenge to find efficient fast neutron scintillators with high spatial resolution is ongoing. The list of requirements for such scintillators is long and demanding: a proton-rich, scattering-free material combining high light yield with the absence of light reabsorption. To meet these challenges, we look for a suitable material among a rising class of 0D organic-inorganic Pb(II) halide hybrids. The use of large organic cations, e.g., trihexyltetradecylphosphonium, results in room-temperature ionic liquids that combine highly Stokes-shifted (up to 1.7 eV), reabsorption-free, and efficient emission (photoluminescence quantum yield up to 60%) from molecularly small and dense (PbX₂ molar fraction up to 0.33) emitting centers. We investigate the optical properties of the resulting ionic liquids and showcase their utility as fast neutron imaging scintillators. Concomitantly with good light yield, such fast-neutron scintillators exhibit both higher spatial resolution and lower γ-ray sensitivity compared with commercial ZnS:Cu-based screens.

Heterogeneous Catalysis with the Participation of Ionic Liquids

This mini-review briefly describes the recent progress in the design and development of catalysts based on the presence of ionic liquids. In particular, the focus was on heterogeneous systems (supported ionic liquid (IL) phase catalysts (SILPC), solid catalysts with ILs (SCILL), porous liquids), which due to the low amounts of ionic liquids needed for their production, eliminate basic problems observed in the case of the employment of ionic liquids in homogeneous systems, such as high price, high viscosity, and efficient isolation from post-reaction mixtures.

Evaluation of the Lewis acidity of metal complexes using ESI mass spectrometry

Metal complexes have extensive applications in catalysis, however, the efficient evaluation of Lewis acidity of metal complexes is still a challenge. Herein, we report a method by using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) to evaluate the Lewis acidity of metal complexes in the presence of a reference Lewis base, in which the value of the Lewis acidity can be quantized by the bond dissociation energy (BDE) of the resultant Lewis acid-base pairs. Using this method, the Lewis acidity of tetradentate Schiff-base metal complexes (designated as salenMX), a class of common metal complexes in the homogeneous catalysis, was studied in detail. For the salenM(III)X complexes (M = Al, Cr, Fe, Co), the Lewis acidity tendency is Al > Cr > Fe > Co due to a strong affinity between the Al complex and the reference Lewis base while a weak affinity concerning on the Co complex. Additionally, the effect of ligand steric and electronic nature on the Lewis acidity was studied by using Co complex. Furthermore, density functional theory (DFT) was employed to calculate the BDE, which consists with the results obtained from ESI-MS. The ESI-MS method provides a convenient and efficient method for evaluating the Lewis acidity of metal complexes.

Development of N,N-disulfo-1,1,3,3-tetramethylguanidinium chlorometallates as heterogeneous catalysts for one pot synthesis of 1,2-dihydro-1-aryl-3H-naphth[1, 2-e][1,3]oxazin-3-one derivatives

Background:

Four members of N,N-disulfo-1,1,3,3-tetramethylguanidinium chlorometallates [DSTMG]n[X], where n= 1 or 2; X= FeCl4 - , Zn2Cl6 2-, NiCl4 2-, MnCl4 2- were synthesized as solid Brønsted-Lewis acidic compounds and studied the catalytic activity with the most acidic salt for three-component synthesis of 1,2-dihydro-1-aryl-3H-naphth[1,2- e][1,3]oxazin-3-ones.

Methods:

N,N-disulfo-1,1,3,3-tetramethylguanidinium chlorometallates of the four transition metal cations such as Fe(III), Zn(II), Ni(II) and Mn(II) were prepared after treatment of the parent ionic liquid N,N-disulfo-1,1,3,3- tetramethylguanidinium chloride [DSTMG][Cl] with the respective metal chlorides in different mole fractions at 75 ºC. The synthesis of 1,2-dihydro-1-aryl-3H-naphth[1,2-e][1,3]oxazin-3-ones was carried out via three-component reaction of 2-naphthol, aromatic aldehydes and urea under neat condition at 90 ºC using 7 mol% of the [DSTMG][FeCl4] catalyst.

Results:

The characterization of synthesized chlorometallates were done using spectroscopic and other analytical techniques including thermogravimetric analysis and Hammett acidity studies. Among the four salts, the salt of Fe(III) ion was observed as the strong Brønsted acidic hydrophobic salt and thus chosen for the catalytic study.

Conclusion:

A new type of chlorometallates of guanidinium cation with composition [DSTMG]n[X], where X= FeCl4 - /Zn2Cl6 2-/ NiCl4 2-/ MnCl4 2- and n= 1 or 2 were developed as –SO3H functionalized solid acids with varied thermal stability (150-250 ºC) and physisorbed water (0-20%) as observed from the thermogravimetric study. From them, the most Brønsted acidic Fe(III) salt was employed as efficient recyclable heterogeneous catalyst for the one-pot synthesis of 1,2- dihydro-1-aryl-3H-naphth[1,2-e][1,3]oxazin-3-ones in neat condition.

Are ionic liquids and liquid coordination complexes really different? - Synthesis, characterization, and catalytic activity of AlCl3/base catalysts

Lewis acid/base catalysts of AlCl3/N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (O-NMP) and AlCl3/1-methylimidazole (N-Mim) were prepared and found to have higher catalytic activity in the Friedel-Crafts alkylation of benzene than the known super acidic ionic liquid chloroaluminate [HN222][Al2Cl7] ([HN222]+ = triethylammonium). Crystals structures were obtained for AlCl3(N-Mim), [AlCl2(O-NMP)2][AlCl4], and [Al(O-NMP)6][AlCl4]3·(C6H6)3 supporting the assignments of neutral and charged catalytic species.

Synthesis of chiral iron-based ionic liquids: modelling stable hybrid materials

A simple method to prepare asymmetric ionic liquids combining the optical, magnetic and Lewis acidic properties of [FeX₄]⁻ anions with the chirality of imidazolium cations.

A 3D molecular cantilever based on interfacial self-assembly and the cobra-like actuation of long-chain imidazolium ionic liquids

Cantilever structures usually function as a key building block in the construction of supramolecular systems. In this work, based on the controllable interfacial self-assembly of monolayer long-chain imidazolium ionic liquids (ILs) on multi-walled carbon nanotubes, we design a 3D molecular cantilever with advantages including facile assembly, multi-mechanism actuation and high scalability. Molecular dynamics simulations predict that the lifting of the cation alkyl chain as a cantilever possesses a cobra-like actuation mechanism, including structure-induced and environmental response effects, which is further verified via experimental observations. On one hand, regulating the internal alkyl chain units results in the regular variation of the cantilever tilt angle with respect to the surface; on the other hand, applying external electric fields with various strengths/directions can also drive the cantilever to rise or fall. As expected, the interfacial self-assembly structure of the molecular cantilever directionally induces a change in the phase transition behaviour, delivering significantly enhanced thermal stability for immobilized ILs compared with the bulk state.

Diagnosing the plasma formed during acoustic cavitation in [BEPip][NTf2] ionic liquid

Sonoluminescence (SL) spectra of a very dry [BEPip][NTf₂] ionic liquid were measured in the first minutes of sonication under Ar. The intense sonoluminescence allowed us to monitor the time-evolution of the SL spectra. Several molecular emissions were observed. Rovibronic temperatures of C₂ and CN were determined giving vibrational temperatures of 5800 ± 500 K and 6000 ± 500 K and rotational temperatures (i.e. translational or gas temperatures) of 4000 ± 500 K. These temperatures stay remarkably constant during the sonolysis, while SL spectra undergo strong changes that illustrate the very fast evolution of the plasma during the first minutes of sonication. The expected strong decrease in the plasma electron energy also reflects in the evolution of the populations of CH electronically excited states. The physical meaning of temperatures derived from molecular emissions in SL spectra is discussed.

Mixed Chlorometallate Ionic Liquids as C4 Alkylation Catalysts: A Quantitative Study of Acceptor Properties

The acceptor properties of mixed chlorometallate ionic liquids for isobutane-butene alkylation (C4 alkylation) reaction were studied. These ionic liquids were prepared by mixing metal chlorides with either triethylamine hydrochloride or 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride in various molar ratios. Using triethylphosphine oxide as a probe, Gutmann Acceptor Numbers (AN) of the catalysts were determined, and the Lewis acidity of mixed chlorometallate ionic liquids was quantitatively measured. Additionally, AN value was developed to determine the relationship between Lewis acidity and catalytic selectivity. The favorite AN value for the C4 alkylation reaction should be around 93.0. The [(C2H5)3NH]Cl–AlCl3−CuCl appears to be more Lewis acidity than that of [(C2H5)3NH]Cl–AlCl3. The correlation of the acceptor numbers to speciation of the mixed chlorometallate ionic liquids has also been investigated. [AlCl4]−, [Al2Cl7]−, and [MAlCl5]− (M = Cu, Ag) are the main anionic species of the mixed chlorometallate ILs. While the presence of [(C2H5)3N·M]+ cation always decreases the acidity of the [(C2H5)3NH]Cl−AlCl3−MCl ionic liquids.

Magnetic Structure, Single-Crystal to Single-Crystal Transition, and Thermal Expansion Study of the (Edimim)[FeCl4] Halometalate Compound

This contribution addresses standing questions about the nature and consequences of the ion self-assembly and magnetic structures, as well as the molecular motion of the crystalline structure as a function of the temperature, in halometalate materials based on imidazolium cation. We present the magnetic structure and magnetostructural correlations of 1-ethyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium tetrachloridoferrate, (Edimim)[FeCl₄], resolved by neutron diffraction studies. Single-crystal, synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction and powder neutron diffraction techniques have been combined to follow the temperature evolution on its crystallographic structure from 2 K close to its melting point (340 K). In this sense, slightly above room temperature (307 K) (Edimim)[FeCl₄] presents a single-crystal to single-crystal transition (SCSC), from phase I (space group P2₁/n) to phase II (P2₁/m), accompanied by a notable increase in the disorder of the imidazolium cation, as well as in the metal complex anion. The temperature evolution and solid-phase transitions of the presented compound were followed in detail by synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction (SXPD), which confirms the occurrence of another phase transition at 330 K, phase III (P2₁/m), the crystal structure of which was elucidated from the SXPD pattern. Moreover, this material presents an anisotropic thermal expansion with a switch from axial positive to negative thermal expansion coefficients as the temperature is raised above the first phase transition, which has been correlated with the molecular motion of the imidazolium-based molecules, producing not only a shortening of the counterion···counterion distances but also the occurrence of different quasi-isoenergetic crystal structures as a function of the temperature.

An efficient halometallate ionic liquid functionalized mesoporous ZSM-5 for the reduction of carbon–carbon multiple bonds

Bi-functional activity and highly dispersed active sites present in halometallate ionic liquid functionalized mesoporous ZSM-5 makes it a unique and superior catalyst compared to various other catalysts reported in the literature.

Mixed metal double salt ionic liquids comprised of [HN222]2[ZnCl4] and AlCl3 provide tunable Lewis acid catalysts related to the ionic environment

Tunable acidic mixed-metal double salt ionic liquids (DSILs), [HN₂₂₂]_2x[(1 − x)AlCl₃ + xZnCl₄], were prepared by mixing [HN₂₂₂]₂[ZnCl₄] with AlCl₃, and found to have unique and controllable catalytic activities.