Zwitterionic "Solutions" for Reversible CO2 Capture.

The zwitterions resulting from the covalent attachment of 3- or 4-hydroxy benzene to the 1,3-dimethylimidazolium cation represent basic compounds (pKa of 8.68 and 8.99 in aqueous solutions, respectively) that chemisorb in aqueous solutions 0.58 mol/mol of carbon dioxide at 1.3 bar (absolute) and 40 °C. Equimolar amounts of chemisorbed CO2 in these solutions are obtained at 10 bar and 40 °C. Chemisorption takes place through the formation of bicarbonate in the aqueous solution using imidazolium-containing phenolate. CO2 is liberated by simple pressure relief and heating, regenerating the base. The enthalpy of absorption was estimated to be -38 kJ/mol, which is about 30 % lower than the enthalpy of industrially employed aqueous solutions of MDEA (estimated at -53 kJ/mol using the same experimental apparatus). The physisorption of CO2 becomes relevant at higher pressures (>10 bar) in these aqueous solutions. Combined physio- and chemisorption of up to 1.3 mol/mol at 40 bar and 40 °C can be attained with these aqueous zwitterionic solutions that are thermally stable and can be recycled at least 20 times.

Charge-tagged N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHC): Direct transfer from ionic liquid solutions and long-lived nature in the gas phase.

Negatively charge-tagged N-heterocyclic carbenes have been formed in solution via deprotonation of imidazolium ions bearing acid side groups and transferred to the gas phase via ESI(-)-MS. The structure of the putative and apparently stable gaseous carbenes formed in such conditions were then probed via reactions with carbon dioxide using a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer particularly optimized for ion/molecule reactions of ESI-generated ions. Complete conversion to imidazolium carboxylates was achieved, which seems to demonstrate the efficiency of the transfer, the gas-phase stability, and the long-lived nature of these unprecedented charge-tagged carbenes and their predominance in the ionic population. Comprehensive studies on the intrinsic reactivity of N-heterocyclic carbenes with silent charge tags are therefore possible. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

Organocatalytic Imidazolium Ionic Liquids H/D Exchange Catalysts.

Simple 1,2,3-trialkylimidazolium cation associated with basic anions, such as hydrogen carbonate, prolinate, and imidazolate, is an active catalyst for the H/D exchange reaction of various substrates using CDCl3 as D source, without the addition of any extra bases or metal. High deuterium incorporation (up to 49%) in acidic C-H bonds of ketone and alkyne substrates (pKa from 18.7 to 28.8) was found at room temperature. The reaction proceeds through the fast and reversible deuteration of the 2-methyl H of the imidazolium cation followed by D transfer to the substrate. The IL acts as a neutral base catalyst in which the contact ion pair is maintained in the course of the reaction. The basic active site is due to the presence of a remote basic site in the anion namely, OH of bicarbonate, NH of prolinate, and activated water in the imidazolate anion. Detailed kinetic experiments demonstrate that the reaction is first order on the substrate and pseudozero order relative to the ionic liquid, due to the fast reversible reaction involving the deuteration of the ionic liquid by the solvent.

Carbon Dioxide Transformation in Imidazolium Salts: Hydroaminomethylation Catalyzed by Ru-Complexes.

The catalytic species generated by dissolving Ru3 (CO)12 in the ionic liquids 1-n-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium chloride or 1-n-butyl-2,3-dimethyl-imidazolium chloride are efficient multifunctional catalysts for: (a) reverse water-gas shift, (b) hydroformylation of alkenes, and (c) reductive amination of aldehydes. Thus the reaction of alkenes with primary or secondary amines (alkene/amine, 1:1) under CO2 /H2 (1:1) affords the hydroaminomethylations products in high alkene conversions (up to 99 %) and selectivities (up to 96 %). The reaction proceeds under relatively mild reaction conditions (120 °C, 60 bar=6 MPa) and affords selectively secondary and tertiary amines. The presence of amine strongly reduces the alkene hydrogenation competitive pathway usually observed in the hydroformylation of terminal alkenes by Ru complexes. The catalytic system is also highly active for the reductive amination of aldehydes and ketones yielding amines in high yields (>90 %).

Confined water in imidazolium based ionic liquids: a supramolecular guest@host complex case.

It is well known that the macroscopic physico-chemical properties of ionic liquids (ILs) are influenced by the presence of water that strongly interferes with the supramolecular organization of these fluids. However, little is known about the function of water traces within this confined space and restricted ionic environments, i.e. between cations and anions. Using specially designed ILs namely 1,2,3-trimethyl-1H-imidazol-3-ium imidazol-1-ide (MMMI·Im) and 3-n-butyl-1,2-dimethyl-1H-imidazol-3-ium imidazol-1-ide (BMMI·Im), the structure and function of water have been determined in condensed, solution and gas phases by X-ray diffraction studies, NMR, molecular dynamics simulations (MDS) and DFT calculations. In the solid state the water molecule is trapped inside the ionic network (constituted of contact ion pairs formed by π(+)-π(-) interaction) through strong H-bonds involving the water hydrogens and the nitrogens of two imidazolate anions forming a guest@host supramolecular structure. A similar structural arrangement was corroborated by DFT calculations and MDS. The presence of a guest@host species (H2O@ILpair) is maintained to a great extent even in solution as detected by (1)H-(1)H NOESY-experiments of the ILs dissolved in solvents with low and high dielectric constants. This confined water catalyses the H/D exchange with other substrates containing acidic-H such as chloroform.

Surface composition/organization of ionic liquids with Au nanoparticles revealed by high-sensitivity low-energy ion scattering.

High-sensitivity low-energy ion scattering (HS-LEIS) analysis was used to elucidate the outermost layer of both functionalized and non-functionalized imidazolium ionic liquids (ILs). The IL outermost layer is composed of all atoms of both cations and anions. The HS-LEIS analyses also allow for quantitative measurement of the thickness of IL overlayers on Au nanoparticles prepared by sputter deposition, which was shown to be a monolayer of ions, as predicted by density functional theory calculations.

Intrinsic mobility of gaseous cationic and anionic aggregates of ionic liquids.

Travelling-wave ion mobility mass spectrometry was used to measure the intrinsic mobility of a series of gaseous supra-cation and supra-anion aggregates of several ionic liquids. Close mobilities were observed in a T-wave cell filled with helium at ca. 0.8 mbar for [(DAI)(n+1)(X)(n)](+) (DAI is the 1,3-dialkylimidazolium cation and X is the anion) as compared to the respective anions [(DAI)(n)(X)(n+1)](-) for n=0 to 9. The anomalous behavior reported before in the condensed phase seems therefore to be related to the unique structural organization of pure ionic liquids that provides both polar and non-polar regions with directionality in which the anionic species are more retained than the cationic species in the salt network.

Chloropalladated propargyl amine: a highly efficient phosphine-free catalyst precursor for the Heck reaction.

[reaction: see text] The palladacycle (Pd[k(1)-C, k(1)-N-C=(C(6)H(5))C(Cl)CH(2)NMe(2)](mu-Cl))(2) 1 derived from the chloropalladation of 3-(dimethylamino)-1-phenyl-1-propyne promotes the arylation of olefins under relatively mild reaction conditions. The coupling of iodoarenes and activated bromoarenes with n-butylacrylate and styrene occurs at room temperature. Turnover numbers of up to 85 000 have been achieved with deactivated bromoarenes and up to 1000 for activated chloroarenes at higher temperatures (80-150 degrees C).