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NOVEL STRATEGIES FOR THE SYNTHESIS OF IONIC LIQUIDS IN AN ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY MANNER
Citation:
GONZALEZ, M. AND P. L. LICHTENBERGER. NOVEL STRATEGIES FOR THE SYNTHESIS OF IONIC LIQUIDS IN AN ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY MANNER. Presented at Pacifichem, Honolulu, HI, December 15 - 20, 2005.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public
Description:
The collaborative research effort established between the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and Kreido Laboratories has focused on the development of reaction strategies for the synthesis of chemicals and materials in a green and sustainable manner. One such area of research has concentrated on a process intensified continuous-flow process for the synthesis of room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) in a green and expeditious manner. Benefits which have been identified by synthesizing RTILs in the Spinning Tube-in-Tube Reactor (STT™) include a decreased reaction time and temperature, increased throughput, solventless conditions (including product work-up), complete conversion of imidazole and final synthesis of the ionic liquid on a continuous-flow basis. The ionic liquid precursors which have been synthesized include the butyl and ethyl derivatives of N-methyl imidazole with a bromide and chloride counter anions. Further reaction of these ionic liquid precursors with lithium trifluoroimide yields the desired final ionic liquid product. Results to be presented include an overview of the STT™ reactor, the synthesis of these ionic liquid precursors, environmental benefits gained via this process and additional applications of the STT™ reactor.