Terpenes to Ionic Liquids: Synthesis and Characterization of Citronellal-Based Chiral Ionic Liquids

A series of new chiral ionic liquids have been prepared and characterized starting from a simple, economical, and commercially available monoterpene, citronellal. The aldehyde functionality in citronellal is converted into a Schiff base using an amine, followed by reduction with Raney nickel to give the desired quaternary amine. Most of the ionic liquids generated using this procedure are found to be liquids at room temperature.