One of the most important areas of green chemistry is the application of environmentally friendly solvents in catalysis and synthesis. Conventional organic solvents pose a threat to the environment due to the volatility, highly flammability, toxicity and carcinogenic properties they exhibit. The recently emerged room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) are promising green solvent alternatives to the volatile organic solvents due to their ease of reuse, non-volatility, thermal stability and ability to dissolve a variety of organic and organometallic compounds. This review explores the use of RTILs as green solvent media in olefin metathesis for applications in the oleochemical industry.
Keywords: RTILs; green solvents; olefin metathesis; oleochemical feedstocks.