Moisture stable ambient temperature ionic liquids: Solvents for the new millennium. 1. The Heck reaction

Abstract

In this paper we report examples of the Heck reaction in the new moisture stable ambient temperature ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim]PF6). We have found that the yield of product is comparable with Heck reactions carried out in DMF, the conventional solvent for this reaction, and that the ionic liquid/catalyst mixture can be recycled several times.