3-(1-Methyl-3-imidazolio)propanesulfonate: a precursor to a Brønsted acid ionic liquid

Abstract

The title compound, C7H12N2O3S, is a zwitterion precursor to a Brønsted acid ionic liquid with potential as an acid catalyst. The C—N—C—C torsion angle of 100.05 (8)° allows the positively charged imidazolium head group and the negatively charged sulfonate group to interact with neighboring zwitterions, forming a C—H...O hydrogen-bonding network; the shortest among these interactions is 2.9512 (9) Å. The C—H...O interactions can be described by graph-set notation as two R22(16) and one R22(5) hydrogen-bonded rings.