Supported ionic liquid-like phases (SILLPs) containing Rose Bengal (RB) units are used to develop organocatalytic systems for the cycloaddition of CO₂ to epoxides. The activity of the supported RB fragments can be fine-tuned by controlling the nature of the SILLPs (i.e., substitution at the imidazolium ring, cross-linking degree of the polymeric matrix, loading, etc.). Such a catalytic system prepared from cheap, simple, and commercially available components provides high activity and stability, with no decay in activity for at least 10 days of continuous use under flow conditions.

Developing efficient and sustainable methodologies to transform CO₂ into added-value chemicals is an important strategy for decarbonization in the chemical industry.

The properties of various mixtures of a zwitterionic ionic liquid ( ZIs-1 ) and LiNTf ₂ , including their conductivity, have been studied showing how they can be adjusted through their molar composition.

Nanofibers mats derived from the task-specific functionalized polymeric ionic liquids based on homocysteine thiolactone are obtained by electrospinning them as blends with polyvinylpyrrolidone. The presence of this functional moiety allowed the post-functionalization of these mats through the aminolysis of the thiolactone ring in the presence of an amine by a thiol–alkene “click” reaction. Under controlled experimental conditions the modification can be performed introducing different functionalization and crosslinking of the electrospun fibers, while maintaining the nanostructure obtained by the electrospinning. Initial studies suggest that the nanofibers based on these functionalized polymeric ionic liquids can be used in both sensing and catalytic applications.

Here we report on a simple and robust approach based on continuous flow devices to fabricate functional spherical polymers in 6 minutes. The presence of thiolactone groups allows the introduction of two functionalization levels. Soluble poly(acrylamide-thiolactone) is converted in the presence of an amine and a crosslinker in the corresponding spheres via continuous droplet generation and an in situ gelation and cross-linking process. The key experimental variables for the preparation of functional spherical polymers were evaluated and optimised. The functionalized beads were modified and preliminarily tested in catalytic applications.