Advances in the field of ionic liquids have opened new applications beyond their traditional use as solvents into other fields especially healthcare. The broad chemical space, rich with structurally diverse ions, and coupled with the flexibility to form complementary ion pairs enables task-specific optimization at the molecular level to design ionic liquids for envisioned functions. Consequentl...

a second virial coefficient correlation suitable for two different temperatures ranges, (t*)-2£180 and (t*)-2>180, where t* is rt/dhvap is presented. the equation of state can be calculated for different, complicated non-polar, and slightly polar liquid mixtures at any temperature over the range from ttp to tc and up to high pressures. the latent heat of vaporization and density at the triple p...

Ionic liquids − defined as salts with a melting point below 100 ◦C – date back to 1914, when Paul Walden reported on [C2H5NH3][NO3], a salt with a melting point of +12 ◦C. While Walden was surely ahead of his time, ionic liquids made an impressive development during the last 10 years. This is due to their unique portfolio of properties: high temperature stability (in favourable cases up to 400 ...

There are a number of techniques available to estimate saturated-liquid molar or specific volumes or densities of liquids. In this study, a new empirical correlation is presented to calculate volume of saturated liquids as a function of critical volume, reduced temperature and acentric factor. An optimization algorithm is utilized to obtain unknown parameters of this correlation by fitting them...

Mechanistic analysis of the reaction between elemental sulfur or selenium and 1,3-dialkylimidazolium acetate ionic liquids, in the absence of an external base or solvent, affords evidence for the equilibrium presence of carbene species in these ionic liquids. It demonstrates the potential to control, through anion selection, the concentration of carbene in stable ionic liquids.

The number of applications involving ionic liquids has dramatically increased in the past few years, and their production and use in a large scale will inevitably lead to their dispersion into water streams (either by wastewater disposal or accidental leakage). Studies on the removal and recovery of ionic liquids from wastewater streams are therefore of crucial importance, yet particularly scar...

Vibrational spectroscopy has continued use as a powerful tool to characterize ionic liquids since the literature on room temperature molten salts experienced the rapid increase in number of publications in the 1990's. In the past years, infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopies have provided insights on ionic interactions and the resulting liquid structure in ionic liquids. A large body of informa...

HOW TO CITE: Reddy P. A critical review of ionic liquids for the pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass. S Afr J Sci. 2015;111(11/12), Art. #2015-0083, 9 pages. http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/ sajs.2015/20150083 Ionic liquids have been the subject of active research over the course of the last decade and have in the past been touted as one of the most promising technologies for revolutionising the...