Synthesis of propylene glycol ethers from propylene oxide catalyzed by environmentally friendly ionic liquids

Abstract A series of acetate ionic liquids were synthesized using a typical two-step method. The ionic liquids were used as environmentally benign catalysts in the production of propylene glycol ethers from propylene oxide and alcohols under mild conditions. The basic strengths of the ionic liquids were evaluated by determination of their Hammett functions, obtained using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and the relationship between their catalytic activities and basicities was established. The catalytic efficiencies of the ionic liquids were higher than that of the traditional basic catalyst NaOH. This can be attributed to the involvement of a novel reaction mechanism when these ionic liquids are used. A possible electrophilic-nucleophilic dual activation mechanism was proposed and confirmed using electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. In addition, the effects of significant reaction parameters such as concentration of catalyst, molar ratio of alcohol to propylene oxide, reaction temperature, and steric hindrance of the alcohol were investigated in detail.