Design and synthesis of C-2 substituted chiral imidazolium ionic liquids from amino acid derivatives

A series of novel chiral ionic liquids (CILs) has been synthesized and fully characterized. The reaction of 1-methyl-2-imidazolecarboxaldehyde and chiral amino alcohols followed by reduction is key to the design of these new CILs. This is the first time that CILs have been synthesized by introducing chiral scaffolds on the C-2 position of the imidazolium cation of ILs. The simple and straightforward procedure resulted in CILs as colorless oils at room temperature in good yields.