1,3-Dimethylimidazolium-2-carboxylate: a zwitterionic salt for the efficient synthesis of vicinal diols from cyclic carbonates

The development of efficient, cheap and recyclable catalysts for reactions under mild reaction conditions is a very attractive topic in green chemistry. Herein, a series of basic ionic liquids (ILs) were investigated as catalysts for the synthesis of vicinal diols via the hydrolysis of cyclic carbonates in order to improve this kind of synthetic process. The effects of the IL structure, the molar ratio of cyclic carbonate to water, and various reaction parameters on the catalytic performance were investigated in detail. It was found that 1,3-dimethylimidazolium-2-carboxylate, a simple halogen-free zwitterionic catalyst, showed high activity (a space-time yield of 1086 h−1) and excellent selectivity for the preparation of ethylene glycol via the hydrolysis of ethylene carbonate. The catalyst could be reused over six times without obvious loss of catalytic activity. Also, it was applicable to a variety of cyclic carbonates for the production of their corresponding vicinal diols with high yields and selectivities. A possible catalytic cycle for this kind of catalytic process was proposed based on the experimental results, NMR spectroscopy and theoretical calculations. This reaction protocol opens a new possibility for chemical synthesis as a substitution for traditional base or basic ILs.