A novel hydrogen-bonded silica-supported acidic ionic liquid: An efficient, recyclable and selective heterogeneous catalyst for the synthesis of diesters

Abstract: In this study, two novel acidic ionic liquids, including a hydroxyl functionalized diacidic ionic liquid [HFDAIL] and a sulfonated diacidic ionic liquid [SFDAIL], were prepared and immobilized on the surface of silica nanoparticles (SNPs) via hydrogen bonding. The materials were characterized by FT-IR, NMR, SEM, nitrogen physisorption measurement, TGA and acid-base titration. The catalytic activity of the prepared catalysts was investigated in the synthesis of phthalate, maleate and succinate diesters under solvent-free conditions. It was found that nanosilica@[HFDAIL] with higher availability of acidic sites and higher hydrophilicity was more efficient compared to the nanosilica@[SFDAIL]. Notably, nanosilica@[HFDAIL] catalyst has also demonstrated excellent selectivity for the diester product while the monoester product was predominant in the case of nanosilica@[SFDAIL] even after prolonged reaction time or higher catalyst loading. In addition, the nanosilica@[HFDAIL] catalyst could be separated by simple filtration and reused several times without any significant loss of catalytic performance, but a remarkable decrease in activity was observed for nanosilica@[SFDAIL] in the next runs. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT : SYNOPSIS Two novel acidic ionic liquids, including a hydroxyl functionalized diacidic ionic liquid [HFDAIL] and a sulfonated diacidic ionic liquid [SFDAIL], were prepared and immobilized on the surface of silica nanoparticles via hydrogen bonding. The catalytic activity of the catalysts was investigated in the synthesis of diesters under solvent-free conditions.