At 90–120 °C, in the presence of methylcarbonate and bicarbonate methyltrioctylphosphonium salts as catalysts ([P₈₈₈₁][A]; [A] = MeOCO₂ and HOCO₂), the transesterification of non-toxic dimethyl- and diethyl-carbonate (DMC and DEC, respectively) with 1,X-diols (2 ≤ X ≤ 6) proceeds towards the formation of cyclic and linear products. In particular, 1,2-propanediol and ethylene glycol afford propylene- and ethylene-carbonate with selectivity and yields up to 95 and 90%, respectively; while, the reaction of DMC with higher diols such 1,3-butanediol, 2-methyl-1,3-propanediol, 1,3-propanediol, 2,2-dimethyl, 1,3-propanediol, 1,4-butanediol and 1,6-hexanediol produce linear C₈–C₁₀ dicarbonates of general formula MeOC(O)O∼∼∼OC(O)OMe as the almost exclusive products. Of note, these dicarbonate derivatives are not otherwise accessible in good yields by other conventional base catalyzed methods. Among 1,3-diols, the only exception was 2-methyl 2,4-pentandiol that yields the corresponding cyclic carbonate, i.e. 4,4,6-trimethyl-1,3-dioxan-2-one. In no one case, polycarbonates are observed. Such remarkable differences of product distributions are ascribed to the structure (branching and relative position of OH groups) of diols and to the role of cooperative (nucleophilic and electrophilic) catalysis which has been proved for onium salts. The investigated carbonate salts are not only effective in amounts as low as 0.5 mol%, but they are highly stable and recyclable.

At T ≥ 140 °C, different primary aromatic amines (pX–C₆H₄NH₂; X = H, OCH₃, CH₃, Cl) react with both ethylene- and propylene-carbonates to yield a chemoselective N-alkylation process: bis-N-(2-hydroxyalkyl)anilines [pX–C₆H₄N(CH₂CH(R)OH)₂; R = H, CH₃] are the major products and the competitive formation of carbamates is substantially ruled out. At 140 °C, under solventless conditions, the model reaction of aniline with ethylene carbonate goes to completion by simply mixing stoichiometric amounts of the reagents. However, a class of phosphonium ionic liquids (PILs) such as tetraalkylphosphonium halides and tosylates turn out to be active organocatalysts for both aniline and other primary aromatic amines. A kinetic analysis monitored by ¹³C NMR spectroscopy, shows that bromide exchanged PILs are the most efficient systems, able to impart a more than 8-fold acceleration to the reaction. The reactions of propylene carbonate take place at a higher temperature than those of ethylene carbonate, and only in the presence of PIL catalysts. A mechanism based on the Lewis acidity of tetraalkylphosphonium cations and the nucleophilicity of halide anions has been proposed to account for both the reaction chemoselectivity and the function of the catalysts.

Methyl trioctylphosphonium methyl carbonate [P₈₈₈₁]⁺[MeOCO₂]⁻ was prepared by the alkylation of trioctyl phosphine with the non-toxic dimethyl carbonate. This salt was a convenient source to synthesize different ionic liquids where the methyl trioctylphosphonium cation was coupled to weakly basic anions such as bicarbonate, acetate, and phenolate. At 90–220 °C, all these compounds [P₈₈₈₁]⁺X⁻; X = MeOCO₂; HOCO₂; AcO; PhO were excellent organocatalysts for the transesterification of dimethyl and diethyl carbonate with primary and secondary alcohols, including benzyl alcohol, cyclopentanol, cyclohexanol, and the rather sterically hindered menthol. Conditions were optimized to operate with very low catalyst loadings up to 1 mol% and to obtain non-symmetric dialkyl carbonates (ROCO₂R′; R = Me, Et) with selectivity up to 99% and isolated yields >90%. The catalytic performance of the investigated ionic liquids was discussed through a cooperative mechanism of simultaneous activation of both electrophilic and nucleophilic reactants.

In the absence of additional solvents, a novel procedure was implemented for the synthesis of trimethylorthoesters through the Pinner reaction. At 5 °C, the reaction of both aliphatic and aromatic nitriles (RCN; R = Et, Bu, Ph) with a moderate excess of MeOH and gaseous HCl gave the corresponding imidate hydrochlorides [RC(NH)OR′·HCl] in excellent yields (>90%). At 25–65 °C, the methanolysis of alkyl imidate salts provided trimethylortho-propionate and valerate, while only traces of trimethylorthobenzoate (TMOB) were observed. However, the aromatic hydrochloride could be readily converted into the hydrogenphosphate salt [PhC(NH)OR′·H₃PO₄] which, in turn, underwent a selective (>80%) reaction with MeOH to produce TMOB in a 62% isolated yield. This allowed for an unprecedented Pinner-type synthesis of TMOB starting from benzonitrile, rather than from the highly toxic trichloromethylbenzene. Overall, remarkable improvements in safety and process intensification were achieved.