Ionic liquid-based aggregation towards the mesoscale mechanism and their applications

Abstract

The structures of ionic liquids (ILs), especially aggregations that could significantly change the micro-environment and affect the property and function of ILs, have attracted extensive attention in recent years. This Perspective first discusses the mesoscale structures of IL aggregation in pure ILs and ILs-solvent mixtures. Then, the “comprise in competition” mechanism that stabilizes and disturbs the IL aggregation is analyzed based on the interacting force and thermodynamical information. Furthermore, we discuss the potential application of IL aggregation in many sciences and engineering aspects including biomass conversion, smart materials, life medicine, etc. Finally, the challenge and opportunities in the fields of IL aggregation are proposed, for instance, direct observation techniques on IL aggregation, large-scale simulations of IL aggregation, theoretical forming mechanism of IL aggregation, coupling mechanism between IL aggregation and the solid interface, and so on. The new viewpoints in IL aggregation will shed light on the rational design of ILs and arouse research interest in ILs as a green medium in the field of chemical engineering.