Ionic liquids catalyzed green processes

Fundamental research on ionic liquids has promoted their wide applications including catalysis, organic synthesis and materials, which provides new method for developing green catalysis processes. This article reviews some representative ionic liquid-based catalytic reactions, such as CO 2 cycloaddition, alkylation, hydroformylation, transesterification, oxidation, CO 2 hydrogenation, cross-polymerization and depolymerization, with the aiming of highlighting the roles of ionic liquids on reaction efficiency, the reduction of emissions and separation. Furthermore, the prospective to the development in this field is discussed.