Research in New Ionic Liquids
Abstract
Ionic Liquids are a family of salts which by definition have very low melting points that are at or below the boiling point of water (<100 C).1-4 They typically have very long liquidous ranges before they decompose, with essentially no vapor pressure in their liquid state and have found a special niche in the field of chemistry. Work in the last decade has experienced exponential growth with effort in applications of ionic liquids as novel solvents for a wide range of reactions. However, efforts in the area have been going on for several decades and most notably those by the USAF. L. King, J. Wilkes, and C. Hussey began pioneering efforts with this unusual class of materials in the 1960's with applications centered upon finding new electrolytes batteries. This work centered heavily upon di N,N alkyl substituted imidazolium salts most of which were water sensitive due to the anion. This long lived effort finally resulted in the discovery of water stable systems in the early 1990's opening the door to many applications. Since that time, much of the effort has centered upon the use of ionic liquids as excellent reaction solvents, extraction media, and as catalyst carriers. Unfortunately, little effort centered upon the basic scientific question of why these salts are low melting and how other systems might be discovered.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 21, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA423581
Entities
People
- Gregory W. Drake
- Rommy Hawkins
Organizations
- Air Force Research Laboratory