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.

Direct catalytic valorization of bioethanol to 1-butanol over different alumina supported catalysts was studied. Thirteen (13) heterogeneous catalysts were screened in search for the optimal material composition for direct one-pot conversion of ethanol to 1-butanol. For the most promising catalyst, a 25% ethanol conversion with 80% selectivity (among liquid carbon products) to 1-butanol could be reached at 250 °C. Additionally, the reaction kinetics and mechanisms were further investigated upon use of the most suitable catalyst candidate.

The ionic liquids 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride [Amim] [Cl] and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride [Bmim] [Cl] were utilized in the dissolution of different natural cellulose biopolymers. The biopolymers subject to this investigation were microcrystalline cellulose, cotton linters as well as Kraft cellulose cut to 0.35 mm fibres. High-intensity acoustic irradiation by means of an ultrasonic horn was applied to enhance the dissolution process. The ionic liquids investigated were able to dissolve cellulose at elevated temperatures, in high concentrations, although significant differences were observed, depending on the type of cellulose and ionic liquid. Moreover, the dissolution process under conventional heating was rather slow, typically extending for a period of several hours. Upon use of high-power ultrasound, the dissolution process was dramatically intensified and complete dissolution was achieved in a matter of few minutes only. Various approaches to cellulose functionalization were proposed and investigated. The effect of external parameters, such as the reaction temperature, the cellulose–derivatising agent molar ratio and the batch time of experiment were studied. Various physico-chemical methods, such as acid methanolysis, TGA, DSC, SEM as well as NMR on ¹H and ¹³C nuclei were applied to investigate the structure and morphology of both the cellulose samples and ionic liquids before and after processing.