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.

Hydrogen bonds-triggered differential extraction efficiencies for bifenthrin by three polymeric ionic liquids with varying anions based on FT-IR spectroscopy

Herein, we fabricated three imidazolium-based polymeric ionic liquids (PILs) with different anions (P[VEIM]BF4, P[VEIM]PF6 and P[VEIM]Br), and analyzed their differential extraction efficiencies for bifenthrin through H-bonding induced effects. Three PILs all presented an irregular block structure with rough surface and lower specific-surface area (SSA, 11.2-18.7 m2 g-1) than carbon-based nanomaterials. They formed hydrogen bonds with free-water molecules in the lattice of PILs, including C2,4,5-H⋯O-H, Br⋯H-O-H⋯Br, O-H⋯Br, C2,4,5-H⋯F-P, P-F⋯H-O-H⋯F-P, C2,4,5-H⋯F-B and B-F⋯H-O-H⋯F-B. After extraction, the O-H stretching-vibration peak was prominently intensified, whereas the C-H bond varied slightly concomitant with reduced B-F and P-F vibration. Theoretically, the C-H vibration should become more intense in the C4,5-H⋯H2O and C2-H⋯H2O bonds after extraction in contrast to before extraction. These contrary spectral changes demonstrated that the hydrogen bonds between cations in the PILs and free-water molecules were broken after extraction, yielding the H-bonding occurrence between bifenthrin and H-O-H in the lattice. As a time indicator for the free-water binding and releasing process, the highest slope for the plot of I t /I 0 against time implied that the shortest time was required for P[VEIM]PF6 to reach an adsorption equilibrium. Overall, the strong hydrophobicity, small SSA and electrostatic-repulsion force for P[VEIM]PF6 are all not conducive to its efficient adsorption. Beyond our anticipation, P[VEIM]PF6 provided the highest extraction recovery for bifenthrin up to 92.4% among three PILs. Therefore, these data lead us to posit that the above high efficiency results from the strongest H-bonding effect between P[VEIM]PF6 and bifenthrin. These findings promote our deep understanding of PILs-triggered differential efficiency through a H-bonding induced effect.