Ionic liquids (ILs) have been widely promoted as functional replacements of volatile organic solvents; however restricting their use to conventional solvents constrains their potential. One means of enhancing their utility is through the development of dual purpose ILs, capable of acting as both solvent and catalyst. A series of bromozincate ILs was synthesised, and the Lewis acidities probed spectroscopically. Furthermore, the crystal and molecular structure of [C₂Py]₂[ZnBr₄] was determined through single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The ILs were then used in a model reaction, aimed at probing effects of both IL Lewis acidity and structural organisation on the reaction outcome.

离子液体（ILs）已广泛推广为挥发性有机溶剂的功能替代品；但是，将其限制在常规溶剂中使用会限制其潜力。增强其效用的一种方法是开发双重用途的IL，它们既可以充当溶剂又可以充当催化剂。合成了一系列的溴锌酸盐离子分子，并用光谱法探测了路易斯酸度。此外，通过单晶X射线衍射确定[C ₂ Py] ₂ [ZnBr ₄ ]的晶体和分子结构。然后将IL用于模型反应中，旨在探测IL Lewis酸度和结构组织对反应结果的影响。