BACKGROUNDDue to environmental concerns, there is a need to eliminate or drastically reduce the use of conventional organic solvents, as these are environmentally harmful. This paper reports on a novel one-pot synthesis of tetrabromoethylcyclohexane (TBECH) in aqueous medium, using amino-functionalized ionic liquids, which catalyze the reaction and make it more environmentally friendly. RESULTSCompared with the traditional synthesis, tetrabromoethylcyclohexane is obtained with equivalent yield (90%), at room temperature, in a short reaction time (approximate to 2 h compared with the previous 17 h) and with a strong reduction of the use of organic solvents; finally two isomers are obtained instead of four. Furthermore, a novel procedure to prepare the ionic liquids has been designed and two new ones have also been synthesised. The calculated environmental factors (EFs), which measure the environmental sustainability, showed a strong reduction of the use of organic solvents for all syntheses of ionic liquids and TBECHs. CONCLUSIONSThe excellent properties of amino-functionalized ionic liquids as solvents and catalysts for chemo- and diastereo-selective bromination of C C bonds in water were confirmed with the synthesis of tetrabromoethylcyclohexane. Given the wide use of brominated compounds in the chemical industry, this procedure could be of wide interest. (c) 2015 Society of Chemical Industry