Ionic liquids: A most promising research field in solution chemistry and thermodynamics

Abstract

Modern room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) consisting of large and asymmetric organic cations and small inorganic anions exhibit a special class of recently developed liquids unifying the property of the liquid state and strong Coulomb interactions acting as the prevailing intermolecular interactions in the liquid state. Several selected examples of the most promising chemical and technical applications of ILs are presented, which underline the importance of thermophysical properties of ILs and their role of being particular solvents in catalytic and separation processes as well as in special fields of electrochemistry.