DFT Studies on the Isomerization of Butene Double Bond Catalyzed by 1-Butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium in Ionic Liquid

The geometries of reactant, product and transition state of the title reaction have been optimized by using density functional theory (DFT) at the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) and B3LYP/6- 311++G(d,p) levels. The variations of the bond parameters in the course of reaction were analyzed. The zero point energy corrections were performed by vibrational analysis. The equilibrium states and the transition state were verified according to the number of virtue frequency of geometry. The intrinsic reaction coordinates (IRC) were calculated from the transition state. The calculated results show that the double bond rearrangement of butene catalyzed by 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium cation is a one-step reaction. The forward energy barrier of isomerization from 1-butene to 2- butene is about 193 kJ·mol-1 and the reverse energy barrier about 209 kJ·mol-1 at the B3LYP/6- 31G(d,p) level, which means that the reaction is easy to proceed at or above room temperature.