Basic ionic liquid as catalyst and surfactant: green synthesis of quinazolinone in aqueous media

Basic imidazolium-based ionic liquids not only possess the extraordinary physicochemical properties of ionic liquids, but also have excellent basicity and surfactivity. 1-Propyl-3-alkylimidazole hydroxide ionic liquids ([PRIm][OH]) were synthesized and their catalytic and surfactant behavior were studied in this work. [PRIm][OH] owned excellent surfactivity, and their alkyl chains and ion pairs benefit hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity respectively. The surfactivity of [PRIm][OH] increased with increasing alkyl chain length. [PRIm][OH] showed better catalytic performance than NaOH in the condensation of 2-aminobenzonitrile with cyclohexanone in aqueous medium, and the catalytic performance was well coincident with their surfactant behavior. [PRIm][OH] could decrease the interfacial tension of solvent effectively and form micelles in water. The formed micelles could solubilise more reactants into water and effectively increase the chance of contact between reactants and catalytic active sites. The catalyst dosage obviously affected catalytic performance. The catalytic system is a promising recyclable system.