Heterogeneous catalytic
hydrogenation of cyclohexene, catalyzed by Pt/Al
2O
3, was carried out in solutions of 2-hydroxyethylammonium formate (a room temperature ionic liquid, RTIL) mixed with methanol, ethanol and propan-2-ol at 25 °C. The rate constants of the reaction in ionic liquid alcohol mixtures were higher than alcohol alone. First-order rate constant of the reaction in the RTIL relative to propan-2-ol is approximately 28. Furthermore, the rate constant of the reaction increases with the mole fraction of the ionic liquid. Single-parameter correlations of log
k vs. normalized polarity parameter (
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), hydrogen-bond acceptor basicity (
β) and hydrogen-bond donor acidity (
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) do not give acceptable results in the solutions. In addition, log
k does not show an acceptable dual-parameter correlation with
π* (dipolarity/polarizibility, one of the Kamlet–Taft parameters for solvent that shows the dipolarity of the solvent) and
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,
π* and
β and
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and
β. However single-parameter correlation of log
k vs.
π* gives reasonable results. The increase of the reaction rate with
π* is attributed to the non-polar nature of the reactants.