Synthesis of new lipid-inspired ionic liquids by thiol-ene chemistry: profound solvent effect on reaction pathway.

The synthesis of a series of new lipid-inspired ionic liquids through thiol-ene "click" reaction with a single-step process. This synthesis offers considerable promise as an efficient and orthogonal method to construct structurally diverse imidazolium-type ionic liquids with linear and branched cationic tails, as well as versatility in the placement of the sulfur heteroatom. Profound solvent effect in this ene reaction regioselectivity has been observed.