Styrene polymerization efficiently catalyzed by iron-containing imidazolium-based ionic liquids: Reaction mechanism and enhanced ionic liquid effect

Iron-containing imidazolium-based ionic liquids were successfully applied as catalysts in the styrene polymerization. Solventless conditions, organic solvents and different imidazolium-based ionic liquid catalysts were tested to evaluate the best reaction conditions. The ionic liquids BMI.FeCl4 and BMI.Fe2Cl7 showed very distinct catalytic activities. Schulz–Flory distributions indicate two or three active catalytic species in different...