A temperature-controlled reversible ionic liquid-water two phase single phase protocol for hydrogenation catalysis

An ionic liquid - water system that undergoes a reversible two phase - single phase transformation dependent upon temperature has been used as a novel medium for the transition-metal-catalyzed hydrogenation of a water soluble substrate. At room temperature, the ionic liquid 1-octyl-3-methylimidizolium tetrafluoroborate, containing [Rh(eta (4)-C7H8)(PPh3)(2)][BF4] catalyst, forms a separate layer to water containing 2-butyne-1,4-diol. In a stirred autoclave the mixture was pressurized with hydrogen to 60 atm (1 atm = 101.325 kPa) and heated to 80 degreesC giving a homogeneous single phase solution. On cooling to room temperature, two phases reform, with the ionic liquid phase containing the catalyst and the aqueous phase containing a mixture of 2-butene-1,4-diol and butane-1,4-diol products that can be simply removed without catalyst contamination.