Mahmoud Zarei was born in Hamedan, Iran in 1986. He received his B.Sc. in pure chemistry (2010) from Islamic Azad University Arak and M.Sc. in organic chemistry (2013) at Bu-Ali Sina University, Iran. Also, he received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry (2017) under the supervision of Prof. Mohammad Ali Zolfigol. He is currently working towards his postdoctoral under the supervision of Prof. Mohammad Ali Zolfigol. His research interest is the synthesis, characterization and applications of homogeneous and heterogeneous reagent and catalyst in organic synthesis. Manuscript profile

Acetic acid and its derivatives are very important materials with significant applications in both the industrial and academic communities. These are used in various industries especially food and pharmaceutical industries, due to their non-toxicity as pH regulators, catalysts and preservatives in food products.In recent years, ionic liquids (ILs) and molten salts (MSs) with acetic acid moieties such as pyridine, imidazole, nano-magnetic Fe3O4 and poly 4-vinylpyridine based salts as Brønsted acidic homogenous and heterogeneous have been used as versatile catalysts for various purposes. In this spotlight, we have reviewed ionic liquids (ILs) and molten salts with acetic acid tags as efficient catalysts for the synthesis of azido alcohols, α-ariloxy alcohols, tetrahydrobenzo[b]pyrans, 2-amino benzo[h]chromene, spiropyran, bis-coumarins, 4,4’-(arylmethylene)-bis(3-methyl-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-5-ol)s, naphthodipyrans and amidoalkyl phenols. Manuscript profile

Mahmoud Zarei was born in Hamedan, Iran in1986. He received his B.Sc. in Pure Chemistry (2010) from Islamic Azad University Arak and M.Sc. in Organic Chemistry (2013) at Bu-Ali Sina University, Iran. He is currently working towards his Ph.D. under the supervision of Professor Mohammad Ali Zolfigol. His research interest is catalysis, including the application of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis in organic synthesis. Manuscript profile