Acetic Acid → 1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

226.8 g (0.72 mol) of Ba(OH)2 (octahydrate) are suspended in 600 g of water. The suspension is heated to 80° C., resulting in the barium salt melting and forming an aqueous emulsion. 149.8 g (0.72 mol) of 1-methyl-3-ethylimidazolium hydrogensulfate are added dropwise to this emulsion, with the temperature rising to 100° C. Despite the barium sulfate which precipitates, the suspension remains readily stirrable. The reaction mixture is stirred for another 2 hours at 80° C., cooled and the precipitated BaSO4 is filtered off using Celite as filter aid. After addition of 43.5 g (0.72 mol) of glacial acetic acid, the water is removed on a rotary evaporator and the oil which remains is extracted with ethyl acetate. Drying under reduced pressure gives 113.3 g (0.67 mol) of 1-methyl-3-ethylimidazolium acetate (yield: 92%). The chloride content is 4 ppm.

Provenance & Evidence