Title:Electrolysis of Ionic Liquids. A Possible Keystone for the Achievement of Green Solvent-Catalyst Systems
VOLUME: 17 ISSUE: 3
Author(s):Marta Feroci, Isabella Chiarotto and Achille Inesi
Affiliation:Dept. SBAI, Sapienza University of Rome, via Castro Laurenziano, 7, I-00161 Rome, Italy.
Keywords:Room temperature ionic liquids, N-heterocyclic carbenes, Organocatalysts, Organic electrosynthesis, Green and sustainable chemistry, Imidazolium, α-Hydroxy ketones, Stetter Reaction, N-Heterocyclic Carbenes
Abstract:The set up of sustainable procedures of synthesis requires, inter alia, a careful reconsideration of the role of the solvent and of
the catalyst. In the last years, room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) and N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have drawn considerable attention
as new rising generation of green solvents and organocatalysts. A simple cathodic reduction of C2-H imidazolium based ionic
liquids yields, in mild conditions, a RTIL-NHC medium, i.e. a green solvent-derived catalyst system, able to trigger different NHCcatalyzed
organic reactions.
To verify the versatility of this medium, its efficiency has been tested in different reactions, i.e.: benzoin condensation, Stetter reaction,
synthesis of γ-butyrolactones, synthesis of esters, Henry reaction, Staudinger reaction. In any case, after the addition of the suitable substrates
to the electrogenerated RTIL-NHC systems, the products have been isolated in good to elevated yields.
