Carbonyl‐functionalized hydrophobic ionic liquids for the efficient capture and conversion of H 2 S

Abstract In this study, aprotic and protic carbonyl‐functionalized hydrophobic ionic liquids (CHILs) were designed for the selective separation and conversion of H 2 S. Impressively, TMACACTf 2 N exhibited a remarkable H 2 S solubility of 2.286 mol/mol and the H 2 S/CO 2 selectivity of 35.7 at 313.2 K and 1.0 bar H 2 S partial pressure, exceeding all the reported absorbents under experimental conditions. The thermodynamic parameters for the dissolution of H 2 S, CO 2 , and CH 4 in TMACACTf 2 N were calculated using variable temperature measurements of solubility and the Krichevsky–Kasarnovsky (K–K) equation. The breakthrough curve verifies the possibility of sequential separation of the components in natural gas. Furthermore, CHILs were used as catalysts for the conversion of H 2 S to thiols or thioethers by α, β‐unsaturated carboxylates, and the self‐separation of the products and catalysts was realized. Therefore, these CHILs have obvious superior absorption performance and provide a new strategy for desulfurization of natural gas and utilization of separated H 2 S.