Highly efficient catalyzed by imidazolium-based dual-sulfonic acid functionalized ionic liquids for liquid phase Beckmann rearrangement:experiments and COSMO-RS calculations

A production technique with the high yield and environmentally friendly process need be developed forε-Caprolactam(CPL)in the chemical industry.This technology is highly desired to design and synthesize high--performance catalysts for liquid phase Beckmann rearrangement of cyclohexanone oxime(CHO)to CPL.In this work,3-methyl-1-(propyl-4-sulfonyl)imidazolium methanesulfonate([PHSO_(3)MIM][MSA])with highly efficient and excellent yield is synthesized successfully.When the optimum molar ratio of ZnCl_(2)over[PHSO_(3)MIM][MSA]was 0.02,it exhibits the high selectivity(94%)of CPL at 90℃for 1 h.Interestingly,Fourier-transform infrared(FT-IR)investigations show that the functional Br∅nsted-Lewis acidic types of ionic liquids(ILs)are formed by the uniformly distributed ZnCl_(2)and[PHSO_(3)MIM][MSA].In addition,the hydrogen bond(H-bond)is formed between CHO and ILs.After ten reaction cycles,no significant structure changes are observed in the recovered[PHSO_(3)MIM][MSA]-ZnCl_(2).The solubilities of ILs are predicted by using COSMO-RS model,the results show that[PHSO_(3)MIM][MSA]is a promising candidate for the liquid phase Beckmann rearrangement of CHO into CPL.Finally,a theoretical model of the H-bond interactions between ILs and CHO is further confirmed to support the advance of reaction mechanism.A feasible way is provided for the CPL production technique in the liquid phase Beckmann rearrangement reaction.