Catalytic Synthesis of p-tert-Butylcatechol by Ionic Liquid

The alkylation of catechol with methyltertiarybutyl ether (MTBE) catalyzed by acid-functionalized ionic liquid gives p-tert-butylcatechol was investigated. The results indicated that under optimized reaction condition of 393K; 2 h; n(catachol): n(MTBE): n (IL) =1:3:0.02, the conversion of catechol and the selectivity of p-tert-butyl catechol (4-TBC) were 87.4% and 65.3% respectively.