The dialkylcarbonate route to ionic liquids: purer, safer, greener?

Abstract

The synthesis of ionic liquids can generate large amounts of waste and use toxic or expensive raw materials. In this short review, we focused on one of the most promising pathways to large scale environment-friendly productions of ionic liquids. The “dialkylcarbonate route” has already allowed the preparation of more than one hundred original ion pairs, avoiding the use of pollutant alkylating agents and non-sustainable anion exchange materials, in a halide-free and water-free process.