Imidazolium-2-carboxylate as an afficient, expeditious and eco-friendly organocatalyst for glycerol carbonate synthesis

An improved and greener approach towards the synthesis of glycerol carbonate, via transesterification, using 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium-2-carboxylate as catalyst is described. The catalyst loading as low as 1% was sufficient to yield quantitative conversions. A plausible mechanism is proposed for the catalytic cycle leading to product formation.