An environmental friendly approach for the synthesis of the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate and its dissolubility to 1, 3, 5-triamino-2, 4, 6-trinitrobenzene

The ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([Emim] Ac) is a good solvent for the famous insensitive high explosive 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6- trinitrobenzene (TATB). In this work, a novel one-pot method has been proposed to synthesize [Emim] Ac using 1-methylimidazole and bromethyl as starting materials, and the reaction conditions have been optimized experimentally. Results show that the one-pot method has advantages of high yield and easy purification process. The synthesized [Emim] Ac has been successfully used to recrystallize TATB, whose exothermic peak increases from 382.9°C to 392.1°C, imply that the purity of recycled TATB is higher. In addition, the dissolution mechanism of TATB in the ionic liquid has been analyzed based on FTIR spectra.