Phosphonium ionic liquids

Garcia A, Torres-Gonzalez LC, Padmasree KP, Benavides-Garcia MG, Sanchez EM (2013) Conductivity and viscosity properties of associated ionic liquids phosphonium orthoborates. J Mol Liq 178 57-62. doi 10.1016/j.momq.2012.11.007... 

Preparation of phosphonium salts as ionic liquids [PiBu3Et][tosylate] Gytec Technology Gorp., USA 2001 24... 

However, ionic liquids containing other classes of organic cations are known. Room-temperature ionic liquids containing organic cations including quaternary ammonium, phosphonium, pyridinium, and - in particular - imidazolium salts are currently available in combination with a variety of anions (Figure 3.1-1 provides some common examples) and have been studied for applications in electrochemistry [7, 8] and in synthesis [9-11]. 

In a series of papers published throughout the 1980s, Colin Poole and his co-workers investigated the solvation properties of a wide range of alkylammonium and, to a lesser extent, phosphonium salts. Parameters such as McReynolds phase constants were calculated by using the ionic liquids as stationary phases for gas chromatography and analysis of the retention of a variety of probe compounds. However, these analyses were found to be unsatisfactory and were abandoned in favour of an analysis that used Abraham s solvation parameter model [5]. 

In this context, the use of ionic liquids with halogen-free anions may become more and more popular. In 1998, Andersen et al. published a paper describing the use of some phosphonium tosylates (all with melting points >70 °C) in the rhodium-catalyzed hydroformylation of 1-hexene [13]. More recently, in our laboratories, we found that ionic liquids with halogen-free anions and with much lower melting points could be synthesized and used as solvents in transition metal catalysis. [BMIM][n-CgHi7S04] (mp = 35 °C), for example, could be used as catalyst solvent in the rhodium-catalyzed hydroformylation of 1-octene [14]. 

A wide variety of new approaches to the problem of product separation in homogeneous catalysis has been discussed in the preceding chapters. Few of the new approaches has so far been commercialised, with the exceptions of a the use of aqueous biphasic systems for propene hydroformylation (Chapter 5) and the use of a phosphonium based ionic liquid for the Lewis acid catalysed isomerisation of butadiene monoxide to dihydrofuran (see Equation 9.1). This process has been operated by Eastman for the last 8 years without any loss or replenishment of ionic liquid [1], It has the advantage that the product is sufficiently volatile to be distilled from the reactor at the reaction temperature so the process can be run continuously with built in product catalyst separation. Production of lower volatility products by such a process would be more problematic. A side reaction leads to the conversion of butadiene oxide to high molecular weight oligomers. The ionic liquid has been designed to facilitate their separation from the catalyst (see Section 9.7)... 

Another substituted derivative of BINAP was used by Lemaire et al. [109]. The ammonium salt catalysts (7 and 8, Fig. 41.10) were prepared in situ from the bro-mohydrates and [Ru( /3-2-methylallyl)2(/72-COD)], and immobilized in several ionic liquids. By comparative studies of the hydrogenation of ethyl acetoacetate, the best results were obtained with imidazolium- and pyridinium-containing ionic liquids. No significant ee was observed with the phosphonium salt. This observation was attributed to problems of solubility and to the ability of complexation for the phosphonium ion. From the anionic side, use of the [BF4] anion appeared superior compared to [PF6] and [(CF3S02)2N]A... 

The nature of this ionic/hydrophilic liquid phase can be quite diverse it can be made by an onium salt (e.g., ammonium or phosphonium), by an ionic liquid (e.g., imidazolium salts), by polyethyleneglycols, and even water. What is required is that the catalyst-philic phase is not miscible with the other phases... 

Abstract The term Lewis acid catalysts generally refers to metal salts like aluminium chloride, titanium chloride and zinc chloride. Their application in asymmetric catalysis can be achieved by the addition of enantiopure ligands to these salts. However, not only metal centers can function as Lewis acids. Compounds containing carbenium, silyl or phosphonium cations display Lewis acid catalytic activity. In addition, hypervalent compounds based on phosphorus and silicon, inherit Lewis acidity. Furthermore, ionic liquids, organic salts with a melting point below 100 °C, have revealed the ability to catalyze a range of reactions either in substoichiometric amount or, if used as the reaction medium, in stoichiometric or even larger quantities. The ionic liquids can often be efficiently recovered. The catalytic activity of the ionic liquid is explained by the Lewis acidic nature of then-cations. This review covers the survey of known classes of metal-free Lewis acids and their application in catalysis. 

The Heck reaction is a C-C coupling reaction where an unsaturated hydrocarbon or arene halide/triflate/sulfonate reacts with an alkene in presence of a base and Pd(0) catalyst so as to form a substituted alkene. Kaufmann et al. showed that the Heck reaction carried out in presence of ILs such as tetra-alkyl ammonium and phosphonium salts without the phosphine ligands, resulted in high yields of product. They attributed the activity to the stabilizing effect of ammonium and phosphonium salts on Pd(0) species. Carmichael et al. used ionic liquids containing either A,A -dialkylimidazolium and A-alkylpyridinium cations with anions such as halide, hexafluorophosphate or tetrafiuoroborate to carry out reactions of aryl halide and benzoic anhydride with ethyl and butyl acrylates in presence of Pd catalyst. An example of iodobenzene reacting with ethyl acrylate to give trans-et vy cinnamate is shown in Scheme 14. 

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