Dicationic Ionic Liquid as the Recyclable Catalyst for the Synthesis of Quinoxaline Derivatives

An efficient and eco-friendly protocol for the synthesis of quinoxaline derivatives employing a condensation reaction between 1,2-diketone and 1,2-diaminobenzene derivative has been developed. The reaction of  1,2-diketone and 1,2-diaminobenzene derivative was carried out in water at room temperature using 10 mol% of task-specific dicationic ionic liquid as a catalyst. The results show that the reactions catalyzed by the dicationic ionic liquid proceeded smoothly to give the corresponding products. High yields of the products, short reaction times, mild reaction conditions and simple experimental procedure make this protocol complementary to the existing methods. Further, the catalyst can be reused for several times without obvious loss of the catalytic activity.