Ionic Liquids: Recent Advances and Applications in Boron Chemistry

Abstract

Ionic liquids (ILs) are a type of low-melting salts, which are generally nonvolatile, have low vapor pressure, very high boiling point, and excellent thermal stability. In addition, they have unique physical and chemical properties including highly variable viscosity, in contrast to common inorganic salts and organic liquids. Consequently, they have found potential applications in the broad area of green chemistry and as electrolytes. Recently, advances have been made in the use of ILs in boron chemistry, and as such various boron-containing ILs have been reported and their applications in classic organic synthesis have been explored. Interestingly, many boron-related reactions, such as hydroboration, were explored in ionic liquid media. This microreview mainly focuses on the progress of boron-containing ILs and reactions involving boron compounds in ILs.