Exceptionally effective H₂S absorption and conversion into thiols in novel superbase protic ionic liquids

We demonstrate an effective strategy for capture and conversion of H2S in novel superbase protic ionic liquids (SPILs). It is found that the synthesized SPILs with the multiple active sites exhibit the unprecedented H2S uptake via chemical absorption (up to 1.81 mol mol(-1) at 298.2 K and 1 bar). More importantly, H2S molecule is activated by these SPILs during the absorption process, so that the activated H2S can be converted further into high value-added thiols in situ with excellent yields under mild conditions (303.2 K and 1 bar) without any solvents and metallic catalysts. Since H2S-saturated SPILs can be regenerated by chemical conversion of absorbed H2S into thiols, thereby eliminating the higher input of energy consumption during the process of H2S stripping. This SPIL-mediated scheme provides an alternative approach for the capture and chemical conversion of H2S.