Friedel-Crafts sulfonylation catalyzed by chloroaluminate ionic liquid immobilized on magnetic nanoparticles: Optimization by response surface methodology

This study focused on optimizing the Friedel-Crafts sulfonylation reaction between 1,3-dimethoxybenzene and p-toluenesulfonic anhydride using chloroaluminate ionic liquid immobilized on magnetic nanoparticles as the catalyst. Various reaction conditions including the ratio between reagents (0.9:1.0 - 1.1:1.0), the catalyst amount (0.1 - 0.3 g), reaction temperature (100 - 120oC), and time (1 - 3 h) were optimized using response surface methodology based on a central composite design model. The results showed that the optimal reaction conditions were achieved at 115°C for 2.3 h, using 0.24 g of catalyst with a reagent ratio of 1.0:1.0, resulting in the highest sulfones yield of 82%.