Abstract:
The effectiveness of the substitution of room temperature ionic liquids for traditional aromatic solvents
in the Diels-Alder Reaction was investigated. Two 1-Butyl-3-Methylimidazolium Halide
(Bromide and Iodide) ionic liquids were synthesized in the microwave and were then used as solvents/catalysts for the Diels-Alder reaction between maleic anhydride and 1,3-cyclohexadiene. The product
of this Diels-Alder reaction was analyzed via gas chromatography, whose results confirmed that the
ionic liquids successfully catalyzed the Diels-Alder reaction at room temperature. Furthermore, the
recyclability of the ionic liquids was investigated, and from the analysis of GC spectra from repeated
Diels-Alder reaction products, it was determined that the ionic liquids can be reused as solvents multiple
time with miniscule changes in percent conversion.
