Chemistry Commons^™

Application Of Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry For Ionic Liquids And Their Biodegradation Products, Sepideh Rahbarirad

Masters Theses

Ionic liquids (ILs) are organic salts with unique physico-chemical properties and are used as green alternatives to volatile organic solvents. ESI-MS is a sensitive technique to detect these stable, permanent ions. My research focused on (1) Identification of biodegradation products of ionic liquids and (2) Multiplexed tandem MS by modulation of ionization efficiency.

Studies, have demonstrated that ILs are toxic to the environment, which makes their biodegradability an important consideration. In this work, metabolites generated during the biodegradation of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (BMIM), a degradation resistant and commonly used ionic liquid, are identified using high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS).

Multiplexed …

Novel Biodegradable Protonic Ionic Liquid For The Fischer Indole Synthesis Reaction, William C. Neuhaus, Ian J. Bakanas, Joseph R. Lizza, Charles T. Boon Jr., Gustavo Moura-Letts

Faculty Scholarship for the College of Science & Mathematics

Novel eco-friendly tetramethylguanidinium propanesulfonic acid trifluoromethylacetate ([TMGHPS][TFA]) ionic liquid was developed as catalyst and medium for the Fischer indole synthesis of a wide variety of hydrazines and ketones. The indole products were isolated in high yields and with minimal amounts of organic solvent. This reaction showed that [TMGHPS][TFA] can be regenerated and reused with reproducible yields without eroding the integrity of the ionic liquid.