Synthesis of glucose-tagged triazolium ionic liquids and their application as solvent and ligand for copper(I) catalyzed amination

Glucose-linked 1,2,3-triazolium ionic liquids have been synthesized as a new class of chiral solvents by copper(I) catalyzed regioselective cycloaddition of a glucose azide with a glucose alkyne followed by quaternization with methyl iodide. The tagging of glucose to triazolium core makes these molecules act as reusable ligand and solvent in copper(I) catalyzed amination of aryl halides with aqueous ammonia. While the free hydroxyl groups of sugar help in stabilizing copper(I) species during the reaction thus acting as a ligand, the triazolium salt which makes it a liquid at room temperature serves as a reusable solvent. These chiral ionic liquids derived from low-cost natural sources can find utility in various transition-metal catalyzed reactions, and can be explored for asymmetric synthesis in future.