The fascinating properties of ionic liquids make it possible to synthesize semiconductor nanostructures via a simple and low-cost electrochemical pathway. The present paper summarizes our recent work on the synthesis of Si, Ge, and SixGe1–x nanostructures from ionic liquids: thin films, nanowires and photonic crystals. We also introduce our first results on the template-assisted electrodepositi...

Room temperature ionic liquids contain molecular ions which are, in general, monovalent. In the present work, the intermolecular structure, dynamics and intermediate range structure in a model ionic liquid, whose cation and anion are monoand di-valent respectively, have been explored. Charge compensation is met by doubling the mole fraction of the cations in the sample. Through coarse grained m...

Catalytic activities of eight sulfonic acid group functionalized ionic liquids in water were compared for the hydrolysis of Sigmacell cellulose (DP ~ 450) in the 150-180°C temperature range by measuring total reducing sugar (TRS) and glucose produced. The catalytic activity of acidic ionic liquids with different cation types decreases in the order imidazolium > pyridinium > triethanol ammonium ...

The solubility of n-butane and 2-methylpropane (isobutane) in three ionic liquids - 1-(2-methylpropyl)-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [(2mC3)C1im][Ntf2], 1-(3-methylbutyl)-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [(3mC4)C1im][Ntf2] and 1-methyl-3-pentylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [C5C1im][Ntf2] - has been measured at atmospheric pressure fro...

Spectroscopic and molecular modeling studies were performed to investigate the underlying dispersion mechanism of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in imidazolium-based ionic liquids. Both the experimental and the simulation evidence indicate that the ionic liquids interact with SWCNTs through weak van der Waals interaction other than the previous assumed "cation-pi" interaction. Therefor...

The influence of the cation's central atom in the behavior of pairs of ammonium- and phosphonium-based ionic liquids was investigated through the measurement of densities, viscosities, melting temperatures, activity coefficients at infinite dilution, refractive indices, and toxicity against Vibrio fischeri. All the properties investigated are affected by the cation's central atom nature, with a...

The initial objective of this project was to carry out a fundamental study of the transport characteristics of a variety of gases and organic solutes in room temperature ionic liquids. The goal was to combine information collected from a number of different experimental measurements in order to develop a fundamental understanding of the interactions governing transport in ionic liquids. Measure...

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been found to be a major contributor to air pollution in many chemical and industrial processes. Recently, a new class of solvents–ionic liquids, which are chemically stable and non-volatile liquid organic salts at temperatures less than 100 C, have attracted widespread interest due to its negligible volatility, nonflammability and high ionic conductivity....

For an adequate choice or design of ionic liquids, the knowledge of their interaction with other solutes and solvents is an essential feature for predicting the reactivity and selectivity of systems involving these compounds. In this work, the activity coefficient of water in several imidazolium-based ionic liquids with the common cation 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium was measured at 298.2 K. To c...

Ionic liquids consisting of a combination of herbicidal anions with a quaternary ammonium cation act as efficient herbicides, which are under consideration to be used in the agriculture. In the present study, we used embryos of the zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model to assess the toxic potential of ammonium-based ionic liquids for aquatic organisms. As we assumed interference of the partially h...