Aliquat A336®: a versatile and affordable cation source for an entirely new family of hydrophobic ionic liquids

A novel family of ionic liquids based on the tricaprylmethylammonium cation [C₂₅H₅₄N⁺] combined with a number of anions that are easily and elegantly prepared by means of simple replacement of the chloride, [Cl⁻], anion in Aliquat 336®—an ionic liquid itself—is introduced. Ionic liquids for engineering purposes should be affordable, easy to handle (i.e. air and moisture stable) and preferably simple to prepare by a non-expert in synthetic chemistry. Consequently, this paper introduces a viable option as a family of engineering-purpose ionic liquids derived from Aliquat 336®. Moreover, the prepared materials can be utilized, e.g. in heterogenized form as a catalyst incorporating catalytically active metal species (Pd) for the hydrogenation of an α,β-unsaturated aldehyde, citral.