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Dual Nature of Ionic Liquids: Ionic Versus Organic

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Encyclopedia of Ionic Liquids

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Introduction

Inorganic salts consisting solely of inorganic ions usually have high melting temperatures because of the strong Coulomb interactions. Molecular solvents comprised totally of neutral molecules typically show low melting points due to the relatively weak van der Waals (VDW) interactions. Ionic liquids (ILs) consisting of organic ions inherit both ionic and organic nature from inorganic salts and organic liquids.

The dual ionic and organic nature not only brings ILs into liquid phase at room temperature (or below 100 °C) but also provides ILs with many unique properties, which are distinct from both conventional inorganic molten salts and organic solvents. For example, nonflammability, non-volatility, good stability and conductivity that are absent in organic liquids originate from the ionic nature of ILs, whereas good solvability, superior tunability, and low melting temperature that are missing in inorganic molten salts are ascribed to the organic nature of ILs.

Both ionic...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Quantum Technology and Device, Department of Physics, Zhejiang University, Zheda Road 38, Hangzhou, 310027, China

    Rui Shi

  2. CAS Key Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Yanting Wang

  3. China School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Yanting Wang

Authors
  1. Rui Shi
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  2. Yanting Wang
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Correspondence to Yanting Wang .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Science, Institute of Process Engineering, Beijing, China

    Suojiang Zhang

Section Editor information

  1. Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan, China

    Guang Feng

  2. Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA

    Peter T. Cummings

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Shi, R., Wang, Y. (2021). Dual Nature of Ionic Liquids: Ionic Versus Organic. In: Zhang, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Ionic Liquids. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6739-6_13-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6739-6_13-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-6739-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-6739-6

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