Green Chemistry has collated a number of ionic liquid research presented at the recent 2nd Asia Pacific Conference on Ionic Liquids and Green Processes held in Dalian, China, on 7-10 September 2010. The selection of articles below represents some of the best ionic liquid research from the Asia-Pacific region. You can access the web-themed issue online.
Fangmin Jin and co-workers demonstrate the reduction of NaHCO3 to formate using isopropanol as a reducing agent. Yields of about 70% were acheived.
Read more about Fangmin Jin’s work:
From NaHCO3 into formate and from isopropanol into acetone: Hydrogen-transfer reduction of NaHCO3 with isopropanol in high-temperature water
Zheng Shen, Yalei Zhang and Fangming Jin
Green Chem., 2011, DOI:10.1039/C0GC00627K , Advanced Article
A fruitful collaboration between the teams led by Changping Li and Urs Welz-Biermann resulted in the development of a microwave-assisted extraction of bioactive lactones from chinese herbal medicines using protic ionic liquids. The Dalian scientists concluded that the extraction mechanism of microwave-assisted ionic liquid extraction is the similar to traditional organic solvent extraction.
Read the full paper:
Microwave-assisted extraction of lactones from Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort. using protic ionic liquids
Chi Yansheng, Zhang Zhida, Li Changping, Liu Qingshan, Yan Peifang and Urs Welz-Biermann
Green Chem., 2011, 13, 666-670
In this web-themed issue, Li and Welz-Biermann also report a room-temperature method to desulfurise fuels employing an oxidation method combined with extraction using acidic ionic liquids. The method shows some promise level of sulfur removal from the model oil reached 99% in 180 min.
Interested in finding out more? Read the full article here:
Desulfurization by oxidation combined with extraction using acidic room-temperature ionic liquids
Chi Yansheng, Li Changping, Jiao Qingzhu, Liu Qingshan, Yan Peifang, Liu Xiumei and Urs Welz-Biermann
Green Chem., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C0GC00745E, Advanced Article
Liu et al. showed that double SO3H-functionalized ionic liquids exhibited better catalytic activity for the esterification of glycerol compared to non-functionalizeds ionic liquids. Glycerol conversion was achieved in 95% within 30 min by using catalytic amounts of ionic liquids (only 0.1 mol% based on glycerol).
You can read the full paper online:
Esterification of glycerol with acetic acid using double SO3H-functionalized ionic liquids as recoverable catalysts
Xiumei Liu, Huiyuan Ma, Yue Wu, Chang Wang, Miao Yang, Peifang Yan and Urs Welz-Biermann
Green Chem., 2011, 13, 697-701
Kim et al. demonstrate an eco-friendly way of making polymers. The Korean scientists synthesized double metal cyanide (DMC) catalysts for the ring opening polymerization of propylene oxide, employing nontoxic lactate esters as complexing agents. “Highly pure polyol products that can be raw materials for high performance polymers like polyurethane are produced by using the resulting catalysts,” claim Kim and co-workers.
Double metal cyanide catalysts bearing lactate esters as eco-friendly complexing agents for the synthesis of highly pure polyols
Ji Hwan Yoon, In Kyu Lee, Hye Yoon Choi, Eun Ji Choi, Ju Ho Yoon, Sang Eun Shim and Il Kim
Green Chem., 2011, 13, 631-639
To mark the International Year of Chemistry in 2011, Green Chemistry has published a 
