tert
-Butylphenol is widely used as an
intermediate
in organic synthesis, and the catalyst for the alkylation reaction
of phenol and
tert
-butyl alcohol is the key to synthesizing
tert
-butylphenol. In our work, a catalyst, 1H-imidazole-1-acetic
acid tosilate ([HIMA]OTs), was synthesized and characterized, and
an efficient and easily recyclable catalytic system of an ionic liquid
was established. In addition, the kinetic and thermodynamic parameters
were calculated; the positive value of Δ
H
*
indicated the endothermic nature of the alkylation reaction, and the
positive value of Δ
S
* and negative value of
Δ
G
* implied that the process of alkylation
of phenol and
tert
-butyl alcohol was spontaneous
in the current reaction system. The recovery experiments of [HIMA]OTs
were performed, and an excellent recycling performance was obtained.
This method provides a potential way for the industrial synthesis
of
tert
-butylphenol.