Ionic Liquids Designer Solvents for Green Chemistry

IONIC LIQUIDS DESIGNER SOLVENTS FOR GREEN CHEMISTRY... 

Plechkova, N. V. Seddon, K. R., Ionic liquids Designer solvents for green chemistry, in Methods and Reagents for Green Chemistry An Introduction, ed. P. Tundo, A. Perosa, and F. Zecchini, John Wiley Sons, Inc., New York 2007, pp. 105-130. 

Ionic liquids (ILs) are not only viewed as potent designer solvents for organic synthesis, they are also often cited in the context of the recently developed field of green chemistry . The main rationale encountered for calling ILs green is their negligible vapor pressure, which, in comparison to conventional molecular organic solvents, reduces occupational health risks because of the limited exposure via air. Furthermore, the risk of explosions is limited because of the same property. 

Green chemistry aims to design the hazards out of chemical products and processes, including solvents. With ionic liquids, you do not have the same concerns as you have with, for example, volatile organic solvents, which can contribute to air pollution. Ionic liquid chemistry is a very new area that is not only extremely interesting from a fundamental chemistry point of view, but could also have a very large impact on industry. 

The design and discovery of ionic liquids (ILs) displaying a melting point lower than lOO C, mainly room tanperature ionic liquids (RTlLs), have been the subject of considerable research efforts over the past decade. RTlLs have attracted considerable attention because these are expected to be ideal solvents to provide novel reactions in green chemistry [1, 2], The interest in this class of molecules arises from their use as liquid media for a variety of chonical transformations and as substitutes for organic molecular solvents. 

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