Supported Ionic Liquids: Efficient and Reusable Green Media in Organic Catalytic Chemistry

Supported ionic liquids refer to ionic liquids that are immobilized on supports (e.g. silica-based materials, magnetic nanoparticles, carbon nanotube, etc.). The synergistic effect of ILs and supports can derive a series of novel performances and properties while retain the advantages of both species. As green media in organic catalytic reactions and asymmetric reactions, they have many advantages over free ionic liquids, including avoiding the leaching of ionic liquids and catalysts, reducing their amount, and improving the recoverability and reusability of both themselves and catalysts. Moreover, supported ionic liquids themselves possess catalytic activity and selectivity via mediating the process of some reactions. Therefore, much research effort has been devoted to studying the supported ionic liquids. Over the last decade, the dramatic advantages of SILs inspire drastic reformation in ionic liquid area. In this article, we overview mainly the application and development of solid-supported ionic liquid using covalent bonds in catalytic reactions, while their stability and the interaction among support, ionic liquid and catalyst are discussed.