After modifications of rare earth and phosphorus, the acidity density and the strength in the pores of zeolite Y (PREUSY) are improved effectively; the surface acidity is suitably reduced and weakened owing to the interaction of rare earth cation and phosphate anion. NH3-TPD analysis showed that the acid distribution of the modified zeolite is more concentrated on the range of intermediate and strong acidity. This kind of modification can direct more hydrocarbons to enter into the pores to be converted and remarkably reduces the possibility of naphtha olefins forming through a surface cracking reaction. In addition, because naphtha olefin reduction does not completely depend on olefin saturation through secondary hydrogen transfer reaction, this kind of reaction mode can decrease the excessive cracking of mediate distillate and can improve the diesel oil yield (LCO) effectively. Some reaction pathways were proposed.

★★★☆☆ Keywords: Zeolite Y; Rare earth; Phosphorus; Catalytic cracking reaction; Surface modification; Reducing olefin formation; Diesel oil yield; Hydrogen transfer activity

★★★☆☆ C. Liu et al. / Applied Catalysis A: General 264 (2004) 225–228.

At ambient reaction temperature, the silica gel confined ionic liquid catalysts were perfectly combined with water as an effective catalytic system for simultaneous C@N and C@O bonds transformation with a TONs exceeding 300molmol
-1.

★★★★☆ D. Li et al. / Tetrahedron Letters 45 (2004) 6791–6794.

A brief review of the work carried out at Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences for development of ionic liquid as green reaction media and catalysts is presented. This includes the processes of ionic liquid to be used as catalyst, reaction media, development of functional ionic liquid and methods for synthesis of immobilized ionic liquid. In the end, some prospects for development of ionic liquid are also addressed.

★★★☆☆ KEY WORDS: catalysis; green chemistry; ionic liquid; reaction media; review.

★★★☆☆ F. Shi et al./ Catalysis Surveys from Asia, 2004, 8(3): 179-186.

A novel reaction of cyclization of 1-dodecene to cyclododecane with high selectivity, especially under moderate pressure, is found in ethanol buffered chloroaluminate ionic liquids with easy separation of product duo to the immiscibility with ionic liquids.

★★★★☆ K. Qiao, Y. Deng / Tetrahedron Letters 44 (2003) 2191–2193.

A highly efficient catalyst system, palladium complex–ionic liquid, was developed for the carbonylation of amines to give carbamate or urea. The desired products could be precipitated by adding water into the resulting mixture and the catalyst system could be reused with slight loss of catalytic activity.

★★★☆☆ F. Shi et al. / Journal of Catalysis 219 (2003) 372–375.

SO3H-functionalized ionic liquids have been employed as an alternative reaction medium to conventional acid catalysts for oligomerization of various olefins, to produce branched olefin derivatives in high conversions and excellent selectivity. The ionic liquid plays a dual role as both catalyst and solvent, providing an efficient and reusable acidic catalyst system for the oligomerization of olefins.

★★★☆☆ Y. Gu et al. / Catalysis Communications 4 (2003) 597–601.

With equal molar ratio of benzene and hydrogen peroxide and without any additional volatile organic solvent, a green aqueous–ionic liquid biphasic hydroxylation of benzene to phenol with hydrogen peroxide as oxidant and metal dodecanesulfonate salts such as ferric tri(dodecanesulfonate) as catalyst was conducted with excellent selectivity and enhanced conversion.

★★★★☆ Jiajian Peng, Feng Shi, Yanlong Gu and Youquan Deng. Green Chemistry, 2003, 5, 224–226.

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE), and isopropyl tert-butyl ether (IPTBE) have been synthesized for the first time over a non-acid ionic liquid as catalyst and dehydrator with high conversion ( > 90%) and selectivity ( > 90%) under mild conditions.

★★★★☆ Feng Shi, Hai Xiong, Yanlong Gu, Shu Guo and Youquan Deng. CHEM. COMMUN. , 2003, 1054–1055.

Ferric hydroxide supported Au prepared with co-precipitation without heat treatment could be a very effective catalyst for selective CO oxidation in the presence of H2 at lower temperatures.

★★★★☆ Botao Qiao and Youquan Deng. CHEM. COMMUN. , 2003, 2192–2193.

★★★★★ Feng Shi, Youquan Deng,* Tianlong SiMa, Jiajian Peng, Yanlong Gu, and Botao Qiao. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2003, 42, 3257–3260. ★★★★★