Preparation and characterization of ionic liquid functionalized SBA-15 and its application in the synthesis of 2,3-dihydroquinazolinones

N-Methyl-Nʹ-propyltrimethoxysillylimidazolium chloride was prepared as ionic liquid (IL) containing silylating agent and then used for modification of the internal surface of SBA-15 to gain a heterogeneous ionic liquid catalyst. Subsequently, the obtained SBA-IL was characterized using various techniques, including SEM and TEM images, FT-IR, X-ray diffraction, TGA/DTA and BET analyses. It was found that the uniform SBA-15 particles, with a dimension of 400-800 nm, showed the decreasing in the pore volume, surface area, and pore diameter after modification process which is as a results of incorporating imidazole groups onto the pores of SBA-15. Afterward, catalytic activity of SBA-IL was investigated in the synthesis of 2,3-dihydroquinazolinones under solvent free condition.