John D. HOLBREY1
1The QUILL Research Centre, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Queen’s University Belfast
Interest and exploration of ionic liquid systems has undergone a seismic shift over the past 30 years or so. This has transformed the field from the relatively esoteric and specialised study of batteries, electrodeposition and acid catalysis into one which addresses applications in catalysis, gas scrubbing, biomass processing, and electrochemical devices across energy, electronic and chemical sectors among others. Ionic liquids are now so mainstream that they are discussed in undergraduate chemistry text books such as Housecroft and Sharpe’s “Inorganic Chemistry” [1].
In this talk, aspects of the use of ionic liquids and ionic liquid-like materials in green chemical and engineering processes, including the design, synthesis and structural characterisation will be discussed. This will draw from past research successes to highlight how developing strategies to address local and global sustainability challenges is inspiring new ionic liquids research.
REFERENCES[1] C. E. Housecroft and A. F. Sharpe, Inorganic Chemistry, 5th ed, Pearson (Harlow, UK) 2018, 299-306.