Sustainable and Reusable Sulfonic Acid-Functionalized Task-Specific Ionic Liquid Catalysts for Multicomponent Reactions. A Review

Improvements in Sustainable Organic Synthesis are usually related to the investigation of less hazardous, non-corrosive and renewable materials, as well as waste prevention, energy efficiency, solvent-free reactions, and the development of efficient reusable catalysts. In this context, multicomponent reactions emerged as important strategies for the rapid and more sustainable synthesis of organic molecules. In addition, the use of task-specific ionic liquids as non-conventional solvents and/or catalysts in multicomponent reactions has recently received great attention, contributing to the development of greener synthetic methodologies. This review describes the studies on the use of structurally diverse homogeneous and heterogeneous sulfonic acid-functionalized task-specific ionic liquids as acidic catalysts for multicomponent reactions applied to the synthesis of nitrogen- and oxygen-based heterocycles, as well as related compounds. The combination of the green credentials of multicomponent reactions and acidic ionic liquids are able to improve process sustainability and green metrics, contributing to sustainable chemical development and, ultimately, to economic growth and cleaner industrial production.