Hydrophobic ionic liquid tuning hydrophobic carbon to superamphiphilicity for reducing diffusion resistance in liquid-liquid catalysis systems

Designing superwettable surfaces for enhancing the reaction efficiencies has been being attracted attention. Herein, we report a distinct strategy that hydrophobic bis((trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl)imide (NTf2)-based ionic liquids can endow hydrophobic carbon with superhydrophilicity and superoleophilicity simultaneously via a one-step method in a large scale. Wettability mechanisms demonstrate that superhydrophilicity of the as-prepared carbon is mainly attributed to pyridinic N-oxide from the thermolysis of the NTf2 anion, whereas superoleophilicity of the carbon is provided by the elements C and F. Furthermore, superamphiphilic carbon can greatly eliminate the diffusion resistance thereby enhancing the reaction efficiencies in liquid-liquid systems by rapid enrichment of reactants around catalysts and increasing phase interfacial areas. This work provides a general route to construct superamphiphilic carbon that can greatly enhance the reaction efficiencies.