Promoting the sulfuric acid catalyzed isobutane alkylation by quaternary ammonium ionic liquids

Seven typical quaternary ammonium ionic liquids, amino acid ionic liquids, and imidazolium ionic liquids were synthesized, characterized, and investigated as co-catalyst for the sulfuric acid catalyzed isobutane alkylation. The results show that the introduction of [OPSIm][HSO4] or [Pr3NPS][HSO4] both leads to a better catalytic performance and higher quality of alkylate products. The molecular dynamic simulation indicates that the [OPSIm][HSO4] can promote the dissolution of isobutane molecules at interface, further improving the ratio of isobutane to olefin from 1.02 to 1.18. Differently, the [Pr3NPS][HSO4] can significantly increase the interface width from 0.66 to 0.97 nm and reduce the interface tension from 28.49 to 14.62 mN/m, thereby enhancing the reaction area and improving the ion transfer. The [Pro][HSO4] and [Gly][HSO4] result in a worse quality of alkylate products due to no positive effect on the interfacial properties such as interfacial solubility of isobutane.