Solvent effects on Diels-Alder reaction in ionic liquids:A reaction density functional study

Extensive experimental studies have been performed on the Diels-Alder(DA)reactions in ionic liquids(ILs),which demonstrate that the IL environment can significantly influence the reaction rates and selectivity.However,the underlying microscopic mechanism remains ambiguous.In this work,the multiscale reaction density functional theory is applied to explore the effect of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate([BMIM][PF_(6)])solvent on the reaction of cyclopentadiene(CP)with acrolein,methyl acrylate,or acrylonitrile.By analyzing the free energy landscape during the reaction,it is found that the polarization effect has a relatively small influence,while the solvation effect makes both the activation free energy and reaction free energy decrease.In addition,the rearrangement of local solvent structure shows that the cation spatial distribution responds more evidently to the reaction than the anion,and this indicates that the cation plays a dominant role in the solvation effect and so as to affect the reaction rates and selectivity of the DA reactions.

Synthesis of Fischer indole derivatives using carboxyl-functionalized ionic liquid as an efficient and recyclable catalyst

Fischer indole cyclization of phenylhydrazine and various ketones using carboxyl-functionalized ionic liquid, 1-carboxymethyl- 3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate （abbreviated as [crnmim] [BF4]） as catalyst was successfully performed. The yields of the target compounds were 80-92%, the purities were 96-98%. The catalyst could be recovered and reused for at least six times without significant loss in activity.

A new approach to the synthesis of diacetals(diketals) pentaerythritol catalyzed by SO_3H-functionalized ionic liquids

In this article,an efficient,simple and environmentally friendly approach to the synthesis of diacetals(diketals) pentaerythritol using SOH-functionalized ionic liquids(ILs) as catalysts was reported.The ILs show high catalytic activity and reusability with good to excellent yields of the desired products.Hammett method has been used to determine the acidity order of these ionic liquids and the results are consistent with the catalytic activities observed in acetalization reaction.Maximum product yield of 93%was observed on using[PSPy][OTf]as catalyst and it can be reused at least 8 times without obvious activity loss.

Efficient and recyclable Rh-catalytic system with involvement of phosphine-functionalized phosphonium-based ionic liquids for tandem hydroformylation—acetalization

The phosphine-functionalized phosphonium-based ionic liquids(dppm-Q, dppe-Q, dppp-Q and dppb-Q) as the bi-functional ligands enable the efficient one-pot tandem hydroformylationeacetalization. It was found that, in dppm-Q, dppe-Q, dppp-Q and dppb-Q, the incorporated phosphino-fragments were responsible for Rh-catalyzed hydroformylation and the phosphoniums were in charge of the subsequent acetalization as the Lewis acid catalysts. Moreover, the diphosphonium-based ionic liquid of dppb-DQ could be applied as a co-solvent to immobilize the Rh/dppb-Q catalytic system with the advantages of the improved catalytic performance, the available catalyst recyclability, and the wide generality for the substrates.

Immobilization of Functionalized Ionic Liquid on Sol-Gel Derived Silica for Efficient Removal of H_2S

An innovative approach to H2 S capture has been developed using several metal-based ionic liquids([Bmim]Cl·CuCl_2, [Bmim]Cl·FeCl_3, [Bmim]Cl·ZnCl_2, [Bmim]Br·CuCl_2, and [Bmim]Br·FeCl_3) immobilized on the sol-gel derived silica, which is superior to purely viscous ionic liquid with a crucial limit of high temperature, low mass transfer rate,and mass loss. The adsorbents were characterized by the Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, transmission electron microscope, N_2 adsorption/desorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and thermal analysis techniques. The effects of the metal and halogen in IL, the loading amount of IL, and the adsorption temperature were studied by dynamic adsorption experiments at a gas flow rate of 100 mL/min. The H2 S adsorption results have showed that the optimal adsorbent and adsorption temperature are 5% [Bmim]Cl·CuCl_2/silica gel and 20—50 ℃, respectively. H_2 S can be captured and oxidized to elemental sulfur, and [Bmim]Cl·CuCl_2/silica gel can be readily regenerated by air. The excellent efficiency of H2 S removal may be attributed to the formation of nano-scaled and high-concentration [Bmim]Cl·CuCl_2 confined in silica gel, indicating that the immobilization of [Bmim]Cl·CuCl_2 on the sol-gel derived silica can be used for H2 S removal promisingly.

Tribological Properties of Functionalized Ionic Liquids Containing Ester-group as Lubricants for Steel-Steel System

A series of functionalized ionic liquids (ILs) containing ester-group were synthesized and their tribological properties as lubricants for steel-steel contact were studied and compared with a non-functionalized ionic liquid and perfluoropolyethers (PFPE). The morphology and chemical composition of the worn scars were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively, and the possible lubrication mechanism of ILs was discussed. As a result, all ILs demonstrated a better lubricity and a much higher load-carrying capacity than PFPE used as lubricants for the steel-steel tribomates system. The functionalized ILs with ester-group showed slightly worse friction reducing ability than their nonfunctionalized counterparts at relatively lower loads owing to their higher viscosity, but then exhibited better antiwear ability because the ester group they contained had not only physical but also strong chemical reactions with the freshly exposed steel surface and formed chemical adsorption boundary films on the worn surface during friction process. Under high loads, some tribochemical reactions took place between the active elements, such as fluorine which were released from the ILs, and fresh metal surfaces of rubbing pairs to form the admixture reaction films, which were mainly composed of ferric fluoride mixed with ferric oxide, leading to lower friction coefficients and good wear resistance.

Ionic liquids:Functionalization and absorption of SO_2

Room-temperature ionic liquids(ILs), which have excellent properties, such as high gas absorption abilities, extremely low volatility and tunable structures, are regarded as environmentally-friendly absorbents and widely used in SO_2 absorption and separation. As a result, a large number of ILs have been synthesized to capture SO_2 from flue gas or simulated gas, but a part of them just have physical interaction with SO_2 and can hardly absorb SO_2 when the content of SO_2 is very low. Hence, functional ILs, which can chemically absorb a large amount of SO_2 with low contents, have been designed and synthesized for SO_2 capture. Up to now, many kinds of functional ILs were investigated for SO_2 absorption from flue gas. In this review, the functional ILs are classified into guanidinium based ILs, hydroxyl ammonium based ILs, imidazolium/pyridinium based ILs, quaternary ammonium based ILs, phosphonium based ILs, and other kinds of ILs according to their cations. The capacities of SO_2 absorption in these ILs, the mechanism of the absorption, and the ways to enhance the absorption are briefly introduced. The prospect of functional ILs for their application in SO_2 removal is presented. The present problems and the further studies are also discussed.

Preparation of Ionic Liquids Immobilized on FMIL-101 Catalysts for Conversion of CO_(2)to Propylene Carbonate

Metal-organic frameworks(MOFs)have attracted considerable research attention as a new type of porous material for catalytic applications.Herein,2,5-dihydroxyterephthalic acid was proposed to replace conventional terephthalic acid and reacted with chromic nitrate nonahydrate to synthesize a functional metal–organic framework(FMIL-101).This was then used to immobilize various compound ionic liquids to prepare three ionic liquids immobilized on FMIL-101 catalysts,namely,FMIL-101-[HeMIM]Cl/(ZnBr_(2))_(2),FMIL-101-[CeMIM]Cl/(ZnBr_(2))_(2),and FMIL-101-[AeMIM]Br/(ZnBr_(2))_(2).After characterization by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy,X-ray diffraction,ultraviolet spectroscopy,thermogravimetry,specific surface area analysis,and scanning electron microscopy,the catalysts were used to mediate cycloaddition reactions between carbon dioxide(CO_(2))and propylene oxide.The effects of reaction temperature,reaction pressure,reaction time,and catalyst dosage on the catalytic performance were investigated.The results revealed that the FMIL-101-supported CIL catalysts afforded the target product propylene carbonate with good catalytic performance and thermal stability.The optimal catalyst,FMIL-101-[CeMIM]Cl/(ZnBr_(2))_(2),displayed a propylene oxide conversion of 98.64%and a propylene carbonate selectivity of 96.63%at a reaction temperature of 110℃,a reaction pressure of 2.0 MPa,a catalyst dosage of 2.0%relative to propylene oxide,and a reaction time of 2.5 h.In addition,the conversion and selectivity of the catalyst decreased slightly after four cycles.Additionally,the catalyst decreased slightly in catalytic performance after being recycled four times.

SYNTHESIS OF FUNCTIONAL MACROMOLECULE INTERMEDIATE THROUGH COUPLING REACTION CATALYZED BY [bmim]Cl/FeCl_3 IONIC LIQUID

To obtain new functional aromatic polymer material, 3,3’-biacenaphthene, which is used as macromolecule intermediate of function aromatic polymer material, was synthesized through the coupling reaction of acenaphthene catalyzing by ionic liquid ([bmim]Cl/FeCl3) at mild reaction condition. Pure 3,3’-biacenaphthene was obtained by recrystalling and column chromatography from the reaction mixture and was determined by GC/MS, 1HNMR and FTIR analysis. The influence of various reaction conditions on the yield of 3,3’-biacenaphthene were studied by GC analysis. The result shows that the optimum synthesis conditions of the coupling reaction are as following: the molar ratio of FeCl3 to [Bmim]Cl being 3, the mole ratio of FeCl3 in [Bmim]Cl/FeCl3 to acenaphthene being 4, the reaction temperature being 20 ℃, the reaction time being 4h and the solvent of the reaction system being PhNO2. Under those conditions, the yield of the 3,3’-biacenaphthene will be 48.71 % and selectivity of that will be 78.56 %. Further more, [bmim]Cl/FeCl3 has no pollution to environments and can be reused.

Parameterization of COSMO-RS model for ionic liquids

The adjustable parameters in the popular conductor-like screening model for real solvents(COSMO-RS)within the Amsterdam density functional(ADF)framework have been re-optimized to fit for the systems containing ionic liquids(ILs).To get the optimal values of misfit energy constant a^0,hydrogen bond coefficient c_(hb)and effective contact surface area of a segment a_(eff),2283 activity coefficient data points at infinite dilution and 1433 CO_2 solubility data points exhaustively collected from references were used as training set.The average relative deviations(ARDs)of activity coefficients at infinite dilution and CO_2 solubility between experimental data and predicted values are 32.22%and17.61%,respectively,both of which are significantly lower than the original COSMO-RS versions.Predictions for other activity coefficients of solutes in ILs,solubility data of CO_2 in pure ILs and the binary mixtures of ILs at either high or low temperatures,and vapor–liquid equilibrium(VLE)for binary systems involving ILs have also been performed to demonstrate the validity of the parameterization of COSMO-RS model for ILs.The results showed that the predicted results by COSMO-RS model with the new optimized parameters are in much better agreement with experimental data than those by the original versions over a wide temperature and pressure range.The COSMO-RS model for ILs presented in this work improves the prediction accuracy of thermodynamic properties for the systems containing ILs,which is always highly desirable for general chemical engineers.

Synthesis and Characterization of Dual Acidic Ionic Liquids

Novel ionic liquids with dual acidity, of which the cation contains Brφnsted acidity and anions contain Lewis acidity were synthesized. These ionic liquids obtained were identified by NMR, FF-IR, SDT and FAB-MS. Their acidities were determined by pyridine probe on IR spectrography.

Fabrication and study of supercapacitor electrodes based on oxygen plasma functionalized carbon nanotube fibers

Dry-spun Carbon Nanotube(CNT)fibers were surface-modified by atmospheric pressure oxygen plasma functionalization using a well controlled and continuous process.The fibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM),Raman spectroscopy,and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy(XPS).It was found from the conducted electrochemical measurements that the functionalized fibers showed a 132.8% increase in specific capacitance compared to non-functionalized fibers.Dye-adsorption test and the obtained Randles-Sevcik plot demonstrated that the oxygen plasma functionalized fibers exhibited increased surface area.It was further established by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller(BET)measurements that the surface area of the CNT fibers was increased from 168.22 m^2/g to 208.01 m^2/g after plasma functionalization.The pore size distribution of the fibers was also altered by this processing.The improved electrochemical data was attributed to enhanced wettability,increased surface area,and the presence of oxygen functional groups,which promoted the capacitance of the fibers.Fiber supercapacitors were fabricated from the oxygen plasma functionalized CNT fiber electrodes using different electrolyte systems.The devices with functionalized electrodes exhibited excellent cyclic stability(93.2% after 4000 cycles),flexibility,bendability,and good energy densities.At 0.5 m A/cm^2,the EMIMBF4 device revealed a specific capacitance,which is 27% and 65%greater than the specific capacitances of devices using EMIMTFSI and H2SO4 electrolytes,respectively.The practiced in this work plasma surface processing can be employed in other applications where fibers,yarns,ribbons,and sheets need to be chemically modified.

Molecular interaction mechanism in the separation of a binary azeotropic system by extractive distillation with ionic liquid

Ionic liquids(ILs)have shown excellent performance in the separation of binary azeotropes through extractive distillation[1].But the role of the ionic liquid in azeotropic system is not well understood.In this paper,COSMO-RS model was applied to screen an appropriate IL to separate the binary azeotrope of ethyl acetate(EA)and ethanol and 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate([OMIM][BF4])was selected.The Quantum Mechanics(QM)calculations and molecular dynamics(MD)simulation are performed to study the interactions between the solvent molecules and[OMIM][BF4],in order to investigate the separation mechanism at the molecular level.The nature of the interactions is studied through the reduced density gradient(RDG)function and quantum theory of Atom in Molecule(QTAIM).Hydrogen bonds and van der Waals interactions are the key interactions in the complexes.The results of MD simulations indicate that the introduction of ILs has a prominent effect on the interaction between the solvent molecules,especially on reducing the number of hydrogen bonds among the solvent molecules.The radial distribution function(RDF)reveals that the interaction between the cation and solvent molecules will increase while the concentration of ILs increases.This paper provides important information for understanding the role of ILs in the separation of the azeotropic system,which is valuable to the development of new entrainers.

Theoretical Study on Ionic Liquid Based on 1-Ethyl-3-MethylImidazolium Cation and Hexafluorophosphate or Tetrafluoroborate

The Hartree-Fock and DFT/B3LYP methods have been employed to investigate the electronic structures of 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium cation （EMIM＋）, BF4^-, PF6^-, EMIM＋BF4^-, and EMIM＋-PF6^- using the Gaussian-94 soft-package at 6-31＋G（d,p） basis set level for hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, boron, phosphorus, and fluorine atoms. Comparison of the electronic structures of the lowest energy of EMIM＋- BF4^- and EMIM＋-PF6^- pairs, and single EMIM＋, BF4^- and PF6^- showed that the optimized EMIM＋-BF4^- and EMIM＋-PF6^- pair conformers were BF4^- and PF6^- outside the 5-ring plane between the ethyl group and the methyl group. The cohesion of C H. … F hydrogen bond between cation and anion is reinforced by charge assistance. The interaction energy between EMIM＋ and PF6 is 328.8 kJ/mol at the B3LYP level and 326.6 kJ/mol at the Hartree-Fock level, whereas that between EMIM＋ and BF4 is 353.5 kJ/mol at the B3LYP level and 350.5 kJ/mol at the Hartree-Fock level. The low energy interactions caused by bulky asymmetric EMIM＋, and charge dispersion of cation and anion give rise to the low melting point of ionic liquid EMIM＋-BF4^- and EMIM＋-PF6^-. The two hydrogen bonding models of single hydrogen bond formation, and the hydrogen transfer between C2 in EMIM＋ and F in BF4^- or PF6^- were principally depicted.

Bronsted-acidic ionic liquids as catalysts for synthesizing trioxane

The batch reaction experiments have been made for the first time to investigate the effect of ionic structure on the reactivity and selectivity of the trioxane-forming reaction catalyzed by a Br?nsted-acidic ionic liquid(IL).The ILs considered include 1-cyclohexyl-2-pyrrolidinonium trifluoromethanesulfonate([NCy P][TfO ]),1-cyclohexyl-2-pyrrolidinonium benzenesulfonate([NCyP ][BSA]),1-cyclohexyl-2-pyrrolidinonium p-toluenesulfonate([NCyP ][pTSA]),1-octyl-2-pyrrolidinonium 2,4-dinitrobenzenesulfonate([NOP][DNBSA]),1-octyl-2-pyrrolidinonium benzenesulfonate([NOP][BSA]),1-octyl-2-pyrrolidinonium methanesulfonate([NOP][MSA]),and 1-octyl-2-pyrrolidinonium trifluoromethanesulfonate([NOP][Tf O]).It is found that the yield of trioxane in the reaction solution correlates inversely with the Hammett acidity function H0 of the aqueous solution of the corresponding ILs.Variation of the cation structure from [NCyP ]+to [NOP]+exerts little influence on the yield and the selectivity of trioxane in the reaction solution.Using [TfO ]-or [DNBSA]-in place of [MSA]-or [BSA]-apparently increases the yield of trioxane,but only slightly increases the concentration of formic acid in the reaction solution.The continuous production experiments have been made to investigate the performance of [NOP][MSA],[NOP][DNBSA],[NCyP ][TfO ],and H2SO4 as an extraction distillation agent.Such effect of [NCyP ][TfO ] considerably overrides that of H2SO4.The yield and the selectivity of trioxane are both increased when [NCyP ][TfO ] is used instead of H2SO4 at a reaction time 5 h.

DFT Studies on the Isomerization of Butene Double Bond Catalyzed by 1-Butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium in Ionic Liquid

The geometries of reactant, product and transition state of the title reaction have been optimized by using density functional theory (DFT) at the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) and B3LYP/6- 311++G(d,p) levels. The variations of the bond parameters in the course of reaction were analyzed. The zero point energy corrections were performed by vibrational analysis. The equilibrium states and the transition state were verified according to the number of virtue frequency of geometry. The intrinsic reaction coordinates (IRC) were calculated from the transition state. The calculated results show that the double bond rearrangement of butene catalyzed by 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium cation is a one-step reaction. The forward energy barrier of isomerization from 1-butene to 2- butene is about 193 kJ·mol-1 and the reverse energy barrier about 209 kJ·mol-1 at the B3LYP/6- 31G(d,p) level, which means that the reaction is easy to proceed at or above room temperature.