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Both softwood (southern yellow pine) and hardwood (red oak) can be completely dissolved in the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([C2mim]OAc) after mild grinding. Complete dissolution was achieved by heating the sample in an oil bath, although wood dissolution can be accelerated by microwave pulses or ultrasound irradiation. It has been shown that [C2mim]OAc is a better solvent for wood than 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C4mim]Cl) and that variables such as type of wood, initial wood load, particle size, etc.affect dissolution and dissolution rates; for example, red oak dissolves better and faster than southern yellow pine. Carbohydrate-free lignin and cellulose-rich materials can be obtained by using the proper reconstitution solvents (e.g., acetone/water 1 : 1 v/v) and approximately 26.1% and 34.9% reductions of lignin content in the reconstituted cellulose-rich materials (from pine and oak, respectively) have been achieved in one dissolution/reconstitution cycle. The regenerated cellulose-rich materials and lignin fractions were characterized and compared with the original wood samples and biopolymer standards. For pine, 59% of the holocellulose (i.e., the sum of cellulose and hemicellulose) in the original wood can be recovered in the cellulose-rich reconstituted material; whereas 31% and 38% of the original lignin is recovered, respectively, as carbohydrate-free lignin and as carbohydrate-bonded lignin in the cellulose-rich material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of task-specific ionic liquids (TSILs) based on glycerylimidazolium cations have been prepared by reaction of 1-chloropropanediol, a compound obtainable from glycerol (a widely available and in-expensive waste product), with the appropriate base (1-H-imidazole, 1,2-dimethylimidazole and 1-methyl-1-H-imidazole). The reaction of 3-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)propane-1,2-diol with chloroalkanes, bromoalkanes and alkyl mesylates gave the corresponding salts which were characterized. The possibility to use these ILs in palladium catalyzed reactions was evaluated, evidencing good catalyst stability and a high recyclability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facile construction of functional nanomaterials with laccase-like activity is important in sustainable chemistry since laccase is featured as an efficient and promising catalyst especially for phenolic degradation but still has the challenges of high cost, low activity, poor stability and unsatisfied recyclability. In this paper, we report a simple method to synthesize nanozymes with enhanced laccase-like activity by the self-assembly of copper ions with various imidazole derivatives. In the case of 1-methylimidazole as the ligand, the as-synthesized nanozyme (denoted as Cu-MIM) has the highest yield and best activity among the nanozymes prepared. Compared to laccase, the Km of Cu-MIM nanozyme to phenol is much lower, and the vmax is 6.8 times higher. In addition, Cu-MIM maintains excellent stability in a variety of harsh environments, such as high pH, high temperature, high salt concentration, organic solvents and long-term storage. Based on the Cu-MIM nanozyme, we established a method for quantitatively detecting phenol concentration through a smartphone, which is believed to have important applications in environmental protection, pollutant detection and other fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable ionic liquids are promising compounds in green chemistry applications. While using them as solvent or reaction media is an important step towards more environmentally friendly chemistry, their synthesis is usually expensive and not green at all. Herein, a benign route to synthesize task ‐ specific ionic liquids is presented, offering several possible functionalities in the cation and anion (artwork by D. Kraban). More information can be found in the Full Paper by C. Liedel et al. on page 11810. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the synthesis of task-specific imidazolium ionic compounds and ionic liquids with key functionalities of organic molecules from electro-, polymer-, and coordination chemistry. Such products are highly functional and potentially suitable for technology applications even though they are formed without elaborate reactions and from cheap and potentially green reagents. We further demonstrate the versatility of the used synthetic approach by introducing different functional and green counterions to the formed ionic liquids directly during the synthesis or after metathesis reactions. The influence of different cation structures and different anions on the thermal and electrochemical properties of the resulting ionic liquids is discussed. Our goal is to make progress towards economically competitive and sustainable task-specific ionic liquids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We designed highly active and practical bis(imidazole)/zinc complexes for transesterification reactions. X-ray crystallographic analysis was used to confirm the structures of the zinc complexes and an equivalent of bis(imidazole) ligand was crucial for high catalytic activity. The octahedral zinc complex 8c was prepared in up to a multigram scale by mixing Zn(OCOCF3)2·xH2O and meta-bis(imidazolylmethyl)benzene ligand 7j (two equivalents per zinc ion) and storable under air at room temperature for at least 9 months. The stable nature of the catalyst was amenable to recovery/reuse at least five times without a significant loss of reactivity. The transesterification reaction proceeded without strict reaction conditions, and expanded substrate generalities, including sterically demanding secondary and tertiary alcohols, were applicable. Remarkably, the present zinc catalyst proved highly effective for valuable monomer synthesis from readily available methyl acrylate derivatives. Chemoselective transesterification reactions of unprotected-amino alcohols were also achieved, using not only a simple methyl ester but also an unprecedented dimethyl carbonate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catalysts which have low antimicrobial toxicity and are aprotic, yet which can act as Brønsted acidic catalysts in the presence of protic additives have been developed. The catalysts are recyclable, considerably more active (i.e. can be used at 10–50 times lower loadings) and of broader scope than their antecedent generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we report a facile approach to synthesize a new highly versatile heterogeneous catalyst by spontaneous aerial oxidation based on nickel oxide nanocomposites immobilized on surface-functionalized reduced graphene oxide sheets. NiO nanocomposite/reduced graphene oxide (rGO–NiO-NC) is a highly efficient, cost-effective, reusable, selective, and eco-friendly nano-catalyst that does not lose any activity even after five reaction cycles. Nickel loading on the rGO-NiO nanocomposite was found to be 3.3 at%, which contributes to the effective and efficient use of rGO–NiO-NCs as a nano-catalyst for the synthesis of imidazole derivatives. Consequently, a series of imidazole derivatives were synthesized, catalyzed by rGO–NiO-NCs, in 60 min with high yields (86% to 96%) under green conditions. Furthermore, the present synthetic methodology was used for the synthesis of highly aromatic imidazole derivatives (B1–B3) whose calf thymus-DNA binding affinities suggest their superior inhibition ability to displace ethidium bromide (EB), which was further confirmed by molecular docking studies. Additionally, the green chemistry matrix of the synthesis reaction was found to be very close to ideal values, such as carbon efficiency (82.32%), E-factor (0.51), atom economy (77.86%), process mass intensity (1.51), and reaction mass efficiency (66.14%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A no-ionic gemini surfactant, namely bis(2-((2-palmitoamidoetil) amino) etil) 1H-imidazol-4,5-dicarboxilate, was synthesized from the fatty acids contained in the palm oil and evaluated as corrosion inhibitor for UNS S41425 type supermartensitic stainless steel in presence of H2S. Used techniques involved potentiodynamic polarization curves, linear polarization resistance and electrochemical impedance measurements. Additionally, the obtained inhibitor was characterized by Infrared and 1H, 13C RMN spectroscopy. Results have shown that the corrosion rate of the steel was markedly decreased by the addition of the imidazole-type of inhibitor, reaching its maximum efficiency at certain inhibitor concentration, decreasing with a further increase in its concentration. This decrease in the corrosion rate was due to the physical adsorption of the inhibitor on to the steel surface following a Langmuir type of adsorption isotherm, affecting both anodic and cathodic reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although oxazolidinones are valuable intermediate compounds for industrial applications, no synthetic method is suitable for their production on a large scale owing to the use of reagents/catalysts that are hazardous or toxic to human health or ecotoxic for the environment. In this manuscript, we describe new and efficient catalysts, that is, the nontoxic hydrogen carbonate anion in combination with a potassium or diisobutylimidazolium ([ iBu2IM]) countercation, for the conversion of β-amino alcohols into cyclic oxazolidinones in high yields of 69 to 90 %. Depending on the catalytic conditions, both catalysts could be easily recovered from the crude reaction products and reused several times without a decrease in their catalytic performance. Furthermore, the imidazolium cation is a renewable catalyst, because its preparation requires less than 10 % of carbon fossil sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antimony trichloride absorbed on silica gel (SbCl/SiO) efficiently catalyses the four-component cyclocondensation of 1,2-diketone, aldehyde, ammonium acetate, and primary amine under solvent-free conditions to afford the corresponding tetrasubstituted imidazoles in high yields. The main merit of this study is introducing a novel catalyst to successful synthesis of a wide range of 1,2,4,5-tetrasubstituted imidazoles for the first time. The proposed method involves features such as simplicity, generality, fairly good efficiency, and reusability of the catalyst. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An environmentally benign and efficient method has been developed for the synthesis of a series of benzo[4,5]imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimido[4,5-d]pyrimidin-4(1H)-one derivatives in aqueous media under catalyst-free conditions by simply combining 2-aminobenzimidazole, aldehyde, and cyanoacetamide. The advantages of this method are that it is catalyst-free, has an easy workup, provides excellent yields, and uses water as the solvent which is considered to be relatively environmentally benign. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of novel hybrid heterocyclic compounds, 3-(3-alkyl-2,6-diarylpiperin-4-ylidene)-2-thioxoimidazolidin-4-ones were synthesised and a comparative study was also carried out under microwave irradiation. The synthesised compounds were characterised by their melting points, elemental analysis, MS, FT-IR, one-dimensional NMR (1H, D2O exchanged 1H and 13C), two dimensional HOMOCOSY and NOESY spectroscopic data. All the synthesised title compounds were screened for their in vitro antibacterial and antifungal activity against clinically isolated strains namely B. subtilis, M. luteus, S. typhii, S. paratyphii B, S. felxneri, P. vulgaris, A. niger, Mucor, Rhizopus and M. gypsuem and the results were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of 2,4,5-triarylimidazoles was synthesized from a new, highly efficient and green method. The reaction is performed in water, without the presence of any catalyst, and under microwave irradiation. This provides new opportunities for the rapid screening of a wide range of compounds, either for the development of new drugs, or original compounds for the material scientist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]