Ionic liquids hydrogenation

Many organic chemical transformations have been carried out in ionic liquids hydrogenation [4, 5], oxidation [6], epoxidation [7], and hydroformylation [8] reactions, for example. In addition to these processes, numerous synthetic routes involve a carbon-carbon (C-C) bond-forming step. As a result, many C-C bondforming procedures have been studied in ambient-temperature ionic liquids. Among those reported are the Friedel-Crafts acylation [9] and allcylation [10] reactions, allylation reactions [11, 12], the Diels-Alder reaction [13], the Heck reaction [14], and the Suzuld [15] and Trost-Tsuji coupling [16] reactions. 

Likewise, the hydrogen bond donor and acceptor properties of an ionic liquid are governed mainly by the choice of the anion. The strongest interactions with hydrogen bond donating solutes are observed with the nucleophilic anions chloride and acetate, while in [BTA]-based ionic liquids, hydrogen bonding with the anion is lowest. 

Because of its low dielectric constant, Hquid hydrogen sulfide is a poor solvent for ionic salts, eg, NaCl, but it does dissolve appreciable quantities of anhydrous AlCl, ZnCl2, FeCl, PCl, SiCl, and SO2. Liquid hydrogen sulfide or hydrogen sulfide-containing gases under pressure dissolve sulfur. At equihbrium H2S pressure, the solubihty of sulfur in Hquid H2S at —45, 0, and 40°C is 0.261, 0.566, and 0.920 wt %, respectively (98). The equiHbria among H2S, H2S, and sulfur have been studied (99,100). 

Finally, none of the ionic liquids were found to be hydrogen bond acids [5], although this may well be a consequence of the salts selected, none of which had a cation that would be expected to act as a hydrogen bond donor. Earlier qualitative measurements on ionic liquid stationary phases of mono-, di-, and trialkylammo-nium salts suggest that hydrogen bond donation can be important where a potentially acidic proton is available [7-9]. More recent work, with [BMIM] salts, also indicates that these ionic liquids should be considered to be hydrogen bond donor solvents [10]. However, this has yet to be quantified. 

If the cation has been unchanged, its ability to act as a hydrogen-bond donor has been unchanged, so why is an effect seen at all I propose that there is competition between the anion and the Reichardt s dye solute for the proton. Thus, the values of the ionic liquids are controlled by the ability of the liquid to act as a hydrogen bond donor (cation effect) moderated by its hydrogen bond acceptor ability (anion effect). This may be described in terms of two competing equilibria. The cation can hydrogen bond to the anion [Equation (3.5-2)] ... 

It can easily be shown that the value of K" is inversely proportional to the value of K and that K is dependent on both the cation and the anion of the ionic liquid. Eience, it is entirely consistent with this model that the difference made by changing the anion should depend on the hydrogen bond acidity of the cation. 

Attempts have also been made to separate non-specific effects of the local electrical field from hydrogen-bonding effects for a small group of ionic liquids through the use of the k scale of dipolarity/polarizability, the a scale of hydrogen bond donor acidity, and the (i scale of hydrogen bond basicity (see Table 3.5-1) [13, 16]. 

At first glance the hydrogen bond basicity (3 is controlled solely by the anions, with basicity decreasing in the order Cl > [RS03] >[BF4] > [PF ] > [N03] > [SCN] . However, while the general trend is clear, this is not the order that one would have expected, and the cations are obviously playing a role. Again, this may be a consequence of competition for the basic site (anion) between the test solute and the acidic site (cation) of the ionic liquid. It is unfortunate that no study to date has used a common anion across all possible cations. 

Another ionic liquid, containing a nonyl-rather than a butyl-side chain, is shown in Figure 4.2-2. There is little difference between the basic structures of these two ion-pairs (Figures 4.2-1 and 4.2-2) with respect to the non-bonded interactions (hydrogen bonds) occurring between the F atoms on the anion and the C-H moieties on the imidazolium cation. 

A similar study performed by Welton and co-workers studied the rate and selec-tivities of the Diels-Alder reaction between cyclopentadiene and methyl acrylate in a number of neutral ionic liquids [44]. It was found that endo. exo ratios decreased slightly as the reaction proceeded, and were dependent on reagent concentration and ionic liquid type. Subsequently, they went on to demonstrate that the ionic liquids controlled the endo. exo ratios through a hydrogen bond (Lewis acid) interaction with the electron-withdrawing group of the dienophile. 

Cracking and isomerization reactions occur readily in acidic chloroaluminate(III) ionic liquids. A remarkable example of this is the reaction of poly(ethene), which is converted into a mixture of gaseous alkanes of formula (C Ff2n+2, where n = 3-5) and cyclic alkanes with a hydrogen to carbon ratio of less than two (Figure 5.1-4, Scheme 5.1-68) [99]. 

Selected Examples of the Application of Ionic Liquids in Transition Metal Catalysis 5.2.4.1 Hydrogenation... 

The first successful hydrogenation reactions in ionic liquids were studied by the groups of de Souza [45] and Chauvin [46] in 1995. De Souza et al. investigated the Rh-catalyzed hydrogenation of cyclohexene in l-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium ([BMIM]) tetrafluoroborate. Chauvin et al. dissolved the cationic Osborn complex [Rh(nbd)(PPh3)2][PFg] (nbd = norbornadiene) in ionic liquids with weakly coordinating anions (e.g., [PFg] , [BFJ , and [SbF ] ) and used the obtained ionic catalyst solutions for the biphasic hydrogenation of 1-pentene as seen in Scheme 5.2-7. 

Chauvin s group described the selective hydrogenation of cyclohexadiene to cyclohexene through making use of the biphasic reaction system [46]. Since the solubility of cyclohexadiene in [BMIM][SbFg] is about five times higher than the solubility of cyclohexene in the same ionic liquid, the latter was obtained in 98 % selectivity at 96 % conversion. 

Rhodium- and cobalt-catalyzed hydrogenation of butadiene and 1-hexene [47, 48] and the Ru-catalyzed hydrogenation of aromatic compounds [49] and acrylonitrile-butadiene copolymers [50] have also been reported to be successful in ionic liquids. 

An example of a stereoselective hydrogenation in ionic liquids was recently successfully demonstrated by Drie en-H6lscher et al. On the basis of investigations into the biphasic water/n-heptane system [51], the ruthenium-catalyzed hydrogenation of sorbic acid to cis-3-hexenoic acid in the [BMIM][PFg]/MTBE system was studied [52], as shown in Scheme 5.2-8. 

A number of enantioselective hydrogenation reactions in ionic liquids have also been described. In all cases reported so far, the role of the ionic liquid was mainly to open up a new, facile way to recycle the expensive chiral metal complex used as the hydrogenation catalyst. 

Finally, a special example of transition metal-catalyzed hydrogenation in which the ionic liquid used does not provide a permanent biphasic reaction system should be mentioned. The hydrogenation of 2-butyne-l,4-diol, reported by Dyson et al., made use of an ionic liquid/water system that underwent a reversible two-... 

Despite the limited solubility of 1-octene in the ionic catalyst phase, a remarkable activity of the platinum catalyst was achieved [turnover frequency (TOP) = 126 h ]. However, the system has to be carefully optimized to avoid significant formation of hydrogenated by-product. Detailed studies to identify the best reaction conditions revealed that, in the chlorostannate ionic liquid [BMIM]Cl/SnCl2 [X(SnCl2) = 0.55],... 

Ionic liquids have already been demonstrated to be effective membrane materials for gas separation when supported within a porous polymer support. However, supported ionic liquid membranes offer another versatile approach by which to perform two-phase catalysis. This technology combines some of the advantages of the ionic liquid as a catalyst solvent with the ruggedness of the ionic liquid-polymer gels. Transition metal complexes based on palladium or rhodium have been incorporated into gas-permeable polymer gels composed of [BMIM][PFg] and poly(vinyli-dene fluoride)-hexafluoropropylene copolymer and have been used to investigate the hydrogenation of propene [21]. 

The first application involving a catalytic reaction in an ionic liquid and a subsequent extraction step with SCCO2 was reported by Jessop et al. in 2001 [9]. These authors described two different asymmetric hydrogenation reactions using [Ru(OAc)2(tolBINAP)] as catalyst dissolved in the ionic liquid [BMIM][PFg]. In the asymmetric hydrogenation of tiglic acid (Scheme 5.4-1), the reaction was carried out in a [BMIM][PF6]/water biphasic mixture with excellent yield and selectivity. When the reaction was complete, the product was isolated by SCCO2 extraction without contamination either by catalyst or by ionic liquid. 

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