Synthesis of thermoregulated phase-separable triazolium ionic liquids catalysts and application for Stetter reaction

A series of polyether-substituted triazolium ionic liquids catalysts have been first synthesized for resolving the problem of separation and reuse of Stetter catalysts. The catalysts possess the properties of critical solution temperature (CST) and inverse temperature-dependent solubility in toluene/heptane solvents. Based on these properties, the catalysts can achieve the catalytic process named as thermoregulated phase-separable catalysis (TPSC) with the characteristic of homogeneous reaction at higher temperature and phase-separation at lower temperature. The novel TPSC system has been successfully applied for Stetter reaction of furfural or butanal with ethyl acrylate. The experimental results have showed that the novel catalysts exhibit excellent TPSC with high recycling efficiency.