Synthesis of Ionic Liquids Containing the Hydroxyl Functionality for Extracting Nonylphenol and Octylphenol in Water

A new series of task-specific ionic liquids (TSILs) containing hydroxyl groups was prepared and applied for extracting 4-nonylphenol (4-NP) and 4-tert-octylphenol (4-t-OP) in water. These new TSILs showed much greater extraction efficiencies for 4-NP and 4-t-OP than the common typical ionic liquids 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([C4mim][PF6]) and 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([C6mim][PF6]).