Ionic Liquids and Catalysis

This paper explores the growing number of publications concerning the use of ionic liquids (ILs) in the period from 1994 to 2013. Catalysis can be identified as the area responsible for the surge of interest in ILs. The same is true for the Brazilian scientific community. The contributions of the group of Prof Roberto Fernando de Souza and those obtained through numerous collaborations are described in this context. The literature survey shows that in the studied period the significant increase in ILs publications occurs at different times depending on their applied area (catalysis, energy, materials, analytical chemistry, biomass, etc.).

ionic liquid; catalysis; Brazilian catalytic community