Highly efficient extraction of phenols from aqueous solution using magnetic room temperature ionic liquids

Water-insoluble magnetic room temperature ionic liquid (MRTIL), [3C 6PC14][FeCl4], was synthesized from trihexyltetradecylphosphonium chloride and FeCl3·6H 2O. The MRTIL was used for solvent extraction of phenols from aqueous solution. Due to its strong paramagneticity, [3C6PC 14][FeCl4] can respond to an external magnetic field, which was employed to design a novel magnetic extraction technique. Extraction conditions such as extraction time, volume ratio between MRTIL and aqueous phase, and pH were optimized. Phenols with multiple chlorine substituents exhibited higher distribution ratios. Compared with four traditional non-magnetic ionic liquids, the MRTIL exhibited significantly higher extraction efficiency. ©The Electrochemical Society