Introduction Of Ionic Liquids Research Articles

Ionic Liquid‐Induced Product Switching in CO2 Electroreduction on Copper Reaction Interface

AbstractThe electrochemical reduction of CO2 (CO2RR) mainly occurs at the three‐phase interface, and the properties of an interface can directly affect the CO2RR pathway. Cu‐based materials can produce considerable amounts of alcohols and hydrocarbons, but it is hard to precisely regulate the reaction interface and obtain specific target products. Herein, the properties of the Cu surface through a facile strategy of ionic liquid modification are successfully adjusted. According to theoretical calculations and in situ Raman and FTIR spectra characterizations, it is revealed that the introduction of ionic liquids (e.g., [Bmim][PF6]) can control the energy barriers and distribution density of key intermediates on Cu interface, thus totally change the reaction pathway of CO2 electroreduction. Consequently, the dominant products from the Cu catalyst will be dramatically switched between C2H4 with a 71.1% Faraday efficiency (FE) and CH4 with a 67.2% FE. It is rarely seen in previous reports that the CO2RR products can be fundamentally changed through simple interface modifications. This work offers a straightforward approach to tune the interfacial properties and understand the mechanisms in various electrocatalytic reactions.

High-performance and frost-resistance MXene co-ionic liquid conductive hydrogel printed by electrohydrodynamic for flexible strain sensor

Conductive hydrogels with high performance and frost resistance are essential for flexible electronics, electronic skin, and soft robots. Nonetheless, the preparation of hydrogel-based flexible strain sensors with rapid response, wide strain detection range, and high sensitivity remains a considerable challenge. Furthermore, the inevitable freezing and evaporation of water in sub-zero temperatures and dry environments lead to the loss of flexibility and conductivity in hydrogels, which seriously limits their practical application. In this work, ionic liquids (ILs) and MXene are introduced into gelatin/polyacrylamide (PAM) precursor solution, and a PAM/gelatin/ILs/MXene/glycerol (PGIMG) hydrogel-based flexible strain sensor with MXene co-ILs ion–electron composite conductive network is prepared by combining the electrohydrodynamic (EHD) printing method and in-situ photopolymerization. The introduction of ILs provides an ionic conductive channel for the hydrogel. The introduction of MXene nanosheets forms an interpenetrating network with gelatin and PAM, which not only provides a conductive channel, but also improves the mechanical and sensing properties of the hydrogel-based flexible strain sensor. The prepared PGIMG hydrogel with the MXene co-ILs ion–electron composite conductive network demonstrates a tensile strength of 0.21 MPa at 602.82 % strain, the conductivity of 1.636 × 10−3 S/cm, high sensitivity (Gauge Factor, GF = 4.17), a wide strain detection range (1–600 %), and the response/recovery times (73 ms and 74 ms). In addition, glycerol endows the hydrogel with excellent freezing (−60 °C) and water retention properties. The application of the hydrogel-based flexible strain sensor in the field of human motion detection and information transmission shows the great potential of wearable devices, electronic skin, and information encryption transmission.

Improving the proton conductivity of HKUST‐1 by hole expansion and ionic liquid introduction

As a new type of proton conductor, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted much attention because of their superior properties over conventional materials, such as the modifiability of framework, reversibility of coordination bond, high specific surface area, and porosity. It is predicted that the proton conductivities of MOFs can be improved by hole expansion and ionic liquid introduction. In this work, HKUST‐1 and LP‐HKUST‐1 were prepared, which were filled with different proportions of N‐methylimidazole triflate (MIM‐CF3SO3) to prepare composite materials MIM‐CF3SO3@HKUST‐1‐100% and MIM‐CF3SO3@LP‐HKUST‐1‐x (x = 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%). A total of seven kinds of materials were synthesized. The proton conductivities of all the materials at 75% RH were tested from 303 to 353 K. In this environment, MIM‐CF3SO3@LP‐HKUST‐1‐100% shows excellent proton conductivity (σ = 0.341 S·cm−1 at 353 K, 75% relatively humidity [RH]), being 7060 times that of HKUST‐1, and reaches the peak value of MOF family in recent years. Then, the conductivities of parts of the materials were tested in extreme environments, such as in high‐humidity environment (303–353 K, 100% RH), high‐temperature environment (373–423 K, N2 atmosphere), and low‐temperature environment (253–283 K, 75% RH). The results show that under all conditions above, the proton conductivity of MIM‐CF3SO3@LP‐HKUST‐1‐100% is the best, up to 0.341 S·cm−1 at 353 K and 75% RH, 0.179 S·cm−1 at 353 K and 100% RH, 1.31 × 10−3 S·cm−1 at 283 K and 75% RH, and 2.31 × 10−4 S·cm−1 at 423 K and N2 atmosphere, indicating that proton conductivity of HKUST‐1 is improved by hole expansion and ionic liquid introduction. Finally, the stability test showed that MIM‐CF3SO3@LP‐HKUST‐1‐100% was stable in all environments above. Moreover, the conductive mechanism of HKUST‐1 before and after introduction of ionic liquids was also discussed, providing a theoretical basis for the enhancement of proton conductivities of MOFs using ionic liquid introduction and hole expansion.

High-performance supramolecular ionogel synthesized via click chemistry

The development of high-strength ionogels is of great significance for high-performance flexible sensing and soft robots. However, the introduction of ionic liquids will cause a decrease in the modulus and strength of ionogels and can cause unnecessary leakage problems. This poses a challenge for designing high-strength ionogels. In this work, based on the design concept of click chemistry, a modular polymer is constructed. The polymer self-assembled a phase-separated microstructure between soft phase and hard phase, exhibiting an ionic liquid-free, flexible, high-strength characteristic. By adjusting the molar ratio of the hard segment and the soft segment, it endows ionogels with various mechanical properties. When the content of hard segment increases from 5mol% to 20mol%, the Young’s modulus of the ionogel increases from 4.37 MPa, 25.17 MPa to 129.94 MPa, the strength increases from 4.34 MPa, 9.67 MPa to 18.39 MPa, and the elongation at break decreases from 1129%, 1063% to 797%, respectively. Meanwhile, the supramolecular ionogel shows good stress-sensing ability and stability, which has promoted the development of high-performance flexible sensing and soft robots.

Change of Conduction Mechanism in Polymer/Single Wall Carbon Nanotube Composites upon Introduction of Ionic Liquids and Their Investigation by Transient Absorption Spectroscopy: Implication for Thermoelectric Applications.

Polymer composites based on polycarbonate (PC) and polyether ether ketone (PEEK) filled with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs, 0.5-2.0 wt %) were melt-mixed to investigate their suitability for thermoelectric applications. Both types of polymer composites exhibited positive Seebeck coefficients (S), indicative for p-type thermoelectric materials. As an additive to improve the thermoelectric performance, three different ionic liquids (ILs), specifically THTDPCl, BMIMPF6, and OMIMCl, were added with the aim to change the thermoelectric conduction type of the composites from p-type to n-type. It was found that in both composite types, among the three ILs employed, only the phosphonium-based IL THTDPCl was able to activate the p- to n-type switching. Moreover, it is revealed that for the thermoelectric parameters and performance, the SWCNT:lL ratio plays a role. In the selected systems, S-values between 61.3 μV/K (PEEK/0.75 wt % SWCNT) and -37.1 μV/K (PEEK/0.75 wt % SWCNT + 3 wt % THTDPCl) were reached. In order to shed light on the physical origins of the thermoelectric properties, the PC-based composites were studied using ultrafast laser time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy (TAS). The TAS studies revealed that the introduction of ILs in the developed PC/CNT composites leads to the formation of biexcitons when compared to the IL-free composites. Moreover, no direct correlation between S and exciton lifetimes was found for the IL-containing composites. Instead, the exciton lifetime decreases while the conductivity seems to increase due to the availability of more free-charge carriers in the polymer matrix.

Polymer Electrolytes Based on Polybenzimidazole, Poly(Vinylidene Fluoride-co-Hexafluoropropylene), and Ionic Liquids

Ionic liquids, salts with melting temperature below 100°C, have continuously attracted research interest. Introduction of ionic liquids in a polymer matrix affords polymer electrolytes exhibiting extremely high electroconductivity and electrochemical stability, membranes on their basis possessing good mechanical properties. Diversity of the polymers/copolymers suitable as the matrix as well as practically unlimited variety of ionic liquids (obtained via variation of the anion-cation composition and additional modification of the ions chemical structure) have afforded the polymer electrolytes with a wide range of the physico-chemical properties. In this study, the attention has been primarily focused on the results published over the recent decades and related to investigation of electrolytes for electrochemical devices, in which the membranes based on polybenzimidazole (meta-PBI), the poly(vinylidene fluoride-со-hexafluoropropylene) (PVdF-HFP) copolymer, and ammonium or imidazolium ionic liquids have been used. Various types of polymer electrolytes differing in the composition and the application range have been considered in this study: polymer + ionic liquid, polymer + ionic liquid + acid, and polymer + ionic liquid + lithium/sodium salt. Moreover, the influence of the fillers, introduced in the above-said polymer electrolytes to improve the properties and resolve the issue of the ionic liquid retention in the membrane, has been discussed. This report presents vast data sets (tables) on the electroconductivity and thermal stability of more than 100 polymer electrolytes, which are demanded by the broad journal audience.

Blended membranes with ionic liquids tailoring by hydroxyl group for efficient NH3 separation

Ionic liquids (ILs)-based membranes are prospective for efficient NH3 separation due to their designability and high gas affinity. This work developed Pebax blended membranes with aprotic IL [EtOHmim][NTf2] and protic IL [EtOHim][NTf2] tailoring by hydroxyl group to improve NH3 separation performance and deeply investigate ILs structure-membrane property-separation performance relationship. The incorporation of ILs remarkably improves NH3 separation performance and leads to different gas transport properties of membranes confirmed by experiments and simulation calculations. The Pebax/EtOHmim-100 blended membrane exhibits exceptional NH3 permeability of 3729.3 barrer, which is 2.65 times higher than that of neat Pebax membrane. The increased FFV and moderate hydrogen bonding interaction simultaneously raise NH3 diffusivity and solubility, resulting in an evident increase of NH3 permeability. Although stronger hydrogen bonding interaction between [EtOHim][NTf2] and NH3 significantly improves NH3 solubility, it also blocks the NH3 fast diffusivity in the membrane, so the NH3 permeability of Pebax/EtOHmim blended membranes is lower than that of Pebax/EtOHmim blended membranes. Moreover, the solubility selectivity depended on interactions between ILs and gas molecules plays a dominant role in the enhancement of NH3 selectivity, thus the highest NH3/N2 selectivity of 1822.3 and NH3/H2 selectivity of 200.7 is obtained by Pebax/EtOHim-100 membrane owing to the stronger hydrogen bonding interaction between [EtOHim][NTf2] and NH3. This work not only demonstrate that the introduction of ILs is beneficial for improving NH3 separation performance of membranes but also emphasize the importance of moderate interaction between ILs and NH3 molecules for containing-NH3 separation.

Construction of selective gas permeation channels in polymeric membranes using nanocage tuned ionic liquid/MIL-53 (Al) filler nanoparticles for effective CO2 separation

Polymeric membranes with metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) holds great potential for gas separation. However, finely tailoring the adhesion between MOFs and polymer matrices is crucial in reducing the membranes defective structure. The partial inorganic structure of MOFs limits the interaction with the polymer matrix, which tends to agglomerate on the membranes. Herein, an interfacial strategy is reported by post-synthetic functionalization of MIL-53 (Al) with ionic liquids (ILs) to construct IL@MIL-53 (Al) composite to improve interfacial interaction among filler and polysulfone (PSf) matrices. At 2 wt% of IL@MIL-53 (Al), the composite membranes tensile strength and % elongation were enhanced by about 66.13 and 97.40% compared to the neat PSf membrane. The intimate contact between IL@MIL-53 (Al) and PSf matrices renders uniform dispersion evident from morphological studies. The gas permeation properties were evaluated for carbondioxide (CO2), nitrogen (N2), methane (CH4) gases. At 2 wt% of MIIL-53 (Al) nanofiller, the CO2 permeance was found to be 37.56 ± 0.63 GPU which was significantly higher than the neat PSf membrane. Besides, the CO2 permeance of the PSf/2% IL@MIL-53 (Al) membrane was noted to be 34.23 ± 0.68 GPU, whereas the CO2/CH4 and CO2/N2 selectivities were 48.64 and 49.19% higher than the neat membrane. As the pressure increased from 2 to 10 bar, the CO2, N2, and CH4 gas permeances in composite PSf membranes were decreased, whereas the CO2/N2 and CO2/CH4 selectivities were observed to be increased. The introduction of ILs into the MOFs pores will tune pore size with the enhanced adsorption selectivity due to its high CO2 solubility and affinity of ILs. ILs functionalization on the cores of the MIL-53 (Al) structure is an effective strategy, which opens up the selection to a broad range of fillers in the aspect of commercialization.

Ionic Liquid and Ionanofluid-Based Redox Flow Batteries—A Mini Review

Stationary energy storage methods such as flow batteries are one of the best options to integrate with smart power grids. Though electrochemical energy storage using flow battery technologies has been successfully demonstrated since the 1970s, the introduction of ionic liquids into the field of energy storage introduces new dimensions in this field. This reliable energy storage technology can provide significantly more flexibility when incorporated with the synergic effects of ionic liquids. This mini-review enumerates the present trends in redox flow battery designs and the use of ionic liquids as electrolytes, membranes, redox couples, etc. explored in these designs. This review specifically intends to provide an overview of the research prospects of ionic liquids for redox flow batteries (RFB).

Highly stretchable multifunctional polymer ionic conductor with high conductivity based on organic-inorganic dual networks

Ionogels based on ionic liquids have attracted great attention in the field of energy storage and sensing due to their intrinsic advantages, including good thermal stability, low flammability and volatility, and favorable electrochemical properties. However, the introduction of ionic liquids usually sacrifices the mechanical properties of ionogels, such as stretchability and strength. Herein, inspired by reinforced concrete structures, an ionogel with rigid inorganic and flexible organic interpenetrating dual network is created, which exhibits high mechanical strength, excellent elongation (nearly 900%), good elasticity and high room temperature ionic conductivity (1.34 mS cm−1) by exploring the synergistic effect between the rigid and flexible components. Such a highly stretchable conductive organic–inorganic dual network is constructed through non-hydrolyzed sol–gel reaction of tetrabutyl titanate and in situ polymerization of butyl acrylate through UV irradiation. Impressively, the assembled energy stroage device (lithium-ion batteries) based on the ionogel exhibits over 1000 stable cycles with average Columbic efficiency of ∼ 100%, and excellent rate property. The resulting stretchable lithium-ion battery can power an LED at 50% strain. The ionogel, as ionic skin, also shows highly repeatable electrical responses in reciprocal deformation cycles. In terms of the above unusual features, the as-perpared ionogel manifests great promise for versatile applications in the field of flexible electronics.

Introduction of Ionic Liquids as Highly Efficient Plasticizers and Flame Retardants of Cellulose Triacetate Films

Introduction of Ionic Liquids as Highly Efficient Plasticizers and Flame Retardants of Cellulose Triacetate Films

A high-performance, solution-processable polymer/ceramic/ionic liquid electrolyte for room temperature solid-state Li metal batteries

All-solid-state electrolytes provide a guarantee for the safe running of Li metal batteries (LMBs) with high energy density. Nevertheless, the low ionic conductivity and huge interfacial impedance between lithium anodes and electrolytes are the critical issues baffling their rapid development and practical application, particularly limiting their operation at room temperature. The introduction of ionic liquids (IL) is expected to solve the above problems. However, the effect of the IL-involved solid-state electrolytes on lithium dendrites suppression has not been clearly revealed and still necessitates in-depth evaluation. In this article, we report an in situ LiF-rich solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) on the lithium anode triggered by reductive decomposition of IL and Li 1.5 Al 0.5 Ge 1.5 (PO 4 ) 3 -involved electrolyte. For the first time, the mechanism of SEI formed on Li metal based on IL-based solid-state electrolyte was unveiled. A combination of experimental and computational investigation manifests that the presence of Li 1.5 Al 0.5 Ge 1.5 (PO 4 ) 3 promotes the release of fluorine anion from IL, and a SEI layer with high content of LiF can be generated in situ through the reductive decomposition of wandering fluorine anion. Thanks to the high mechanical modulus from Li 1.5 Al 0.5 Ge 1.5 (PO 4 ) 3 , the symmetric Li｜Li batteries equipped with synthesized solid-state composite electrolyte (SSCE) exhibit extremely stable Li plating/stripping behavior for more than 2700 h with a small polarization voltage of 50 mV at 0.1 mA cm −2 . Moreover, the assembled solid-state Li｜LiFePO 4 batteries based on SSCE could operate steadily for 196 cycles at ambient temperature, with 90.7% capacity retention. These results provide a promising insight into the design of SSCE and realization of room temperature solid-state LMBs with high performance. • Solid-state electrolyte based on ionic liquid/polymer/ceramic composites for room temperature solid-state LMBs is fabricated. • The synergistic effect on the SEI formation with high content of LiF is unveiled by experimental and computational study. • The high ionic conductivity and excellent mechanical strength of the SSCE enable superior cyclical stability.

Controlled Nanostructuration of Cobalt Oxyhydroxide Electrode Material for Hybrid Supercapacitors.

Nanostructuration is one of the most promising strategies to develop performant electrode materials for energy storage devices, such as hybrid supercapacitors. In this work, we studied the influence of precipitation medium and the use of a series of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ionic liquids for the nanostructuration of β(III) cobalt oxyhydroxides. Then, the effect of the nanostructuration and the impact of the different ionic liquids used during synthesis were investigated in terms of energy storage performances. First, we demonstrated that forward precipitation, in a cobalt-rich medium, leads to smaller particles with higher specific surface areas (SSA) and an enhanced mesoporosity. Introduction of ionic liquids (ILs) in the precipitation medium further strongly increased the specific surface area and the mesoporosity to achieve well-nanostructured materials with a very high SSA of 265 m2/g and porosity of 0.43 cm3/g. Additionally, we showed that ILs used as surfactant and template also functionalize the nanomaterial surface, leading to a beneficial synergy between the highly ionic conductive IL and the cobalt oxyhydroxide, which lowers the resistance charge transfer and improves the specific capacity. The nature of the ionic liquid had an important influence on the final electrochemical properties and the best performances were reached with the ionic liquid containing the longest alkyl chain.

Overview on Protein Extraction and Purification Using Ionic-Liquid-Based Processes

Proteins are one the most widely studied biomolecules with diverse functions and applications. Aiming at overcoming the current drawbacks of purification processes of proteins, the introduction of ionic liquids (ILs) has been a hot topic of research. ILs have been applied in the creation of aqueous biphasic systems (IL-based ABS), solid-phase extractions through poly(ionic liquid)s (PILs) and supported ionic-liquid phases (SILPs), and in the crystallization of proteins. In this sense, ILs have emerged as solvents, electrolytes or adjuvants, or as supported materials to tune the adsorption/affinity capacity aiming at developing an efficient, cost-effective, sustainable and green IL-based process for protein extraction. This review discusses different IL-based processes in the extraction and purification of proteins in the past years, namely IL-based aqueous biphasic systems (IL-based ABS), solid-phase extractions through PILs and SILPs, and protein crystallization. The type and structure of ILs applied and their influence in the different processes performance are also discussed.

Influence of nitrogen configuration on the electrochemical properties of carbonized poly(acrylonitrile)-ionic liquid as anode materials in lithium ion batteries

Abstract A sequence of N-doped carbon materials has been synthesized using poly(acrylonitrile)-ionic liquid copolymers as carbon precursors. The nitrogen content and configuration in carbon materials has been changed regularly within a certain range by adjusting the proportion of ionic liquids. We found that the capacity and rate performance increased dramatically after the introduction of ionic liquids, which was attributed to incorporation of higher amount pyridinic-N, pyrrolic-N into the carbon materials. Besides, with the increase of the graphitic-N, the initial Coulombic efficiency decreased from 58.5 % to 53.47 % and the RSEI raised from 66.34 Ω to 140.96 Ω, which was attributed to the higher cohesive energy of Li dimmer than adsorption energy of graphitic-N with Li, since more lithium clusters during the formation of SEI film were formed. The electrochemical tests also revealed the negative role of graphitic-N in the capacity. Therefore, this work provides a feasible method to design the nitrogen content and configuration of the N-doped carbon materials.

Molecular interaction mechanism in the separation of a binary azeotropic system by extractive distillation with ionic liquid

Ionic liquids (ILs) have shown excellent performance in the separation of binary azeotropes through extractive distillation [1]. But the role of the ionic liquid in azeotropic system is not well understood. In this paper, COSMO-RS model was applied to screen an appropriate IL to separate the binary azeotrope of ethyl acetate (EA) and ethanol and 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([OMIM][BF4]) was selected. The Quantum Mechanics (QM) calculations and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation are performed to study the interactions between the solvent molecules and [OMIM][BF4], in order to investigate the separation mechanism at the molecular level. The nature of the interactions is studied through the reduced density gradient (RDG) function and quantum theory of Atom in Molecule (QTAIM). Hydrogen bonds and van der Waals interactions are the key interactions in the complexes. The results of MD simulations indicate that the introduction of ILs has a prominent effect on the interaction between the solvent molecules, especially on reducing the number of hydrogen bonds among the solvent molecules. The radial distribution function (RDF) reveals that the interaction between the cation and solvent molecules will increase while the concentration of ILs increases. This paper provides important information for understanding the role of ILs in the separation of the azeotropic system, which is valuable to the development of new entrainers.

Ionic liquids as gas chromatographic stationary phases: how can they change food and natural product analyses?

The volatile fraction of natural products often consists of complex mixtures of isomeric and/or homologous components with similar structural and physical characteristics (e.g. mono- and sesquiterpenoids) that are not easy to separate simultaneously with conventional GC stationary phases, even when used with multidimensional systems. The introduction of ionic liquids (ILs) as stationary phases has opened up new perspectives in this field as their unique solvation properties result in uncommon selectivity, which is completely different to that of classic polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)- and polyethyleneglycol (PEG)-based columns. Because of their peculiar selectivity and high inertness, IL-based columns have already found several applications in the natural product field in mono- and multidimensional GC and preparative GC, leading to the exhaustive analysis of complex samples (including aqueous solutions), and the separation of challenging pair(s) of compounds. This article provides an overview of how IL-based columns can be exploited in the fields of food and natural products, explores the wide range of applications that have already been developed and highlights the main features of these promising stationary phases, which are expected to be further extended in the near future, in particular, for routine use. Graphical abstract.

Influence of Ionic Liquids on Structure and Rheological Behaviors of Silica-Filled Butadiene Rubber

Nanoparticle dispersion is important for the performance of rubber compounds. Herein, ionic liquids (ILs) and silane are used to prepare silica-filled butadiene rubber vulcanizates. The results show that replacement of a half of silane by ILs could greatly improve the dispersions of silica and zinc oxide, restrain the migration of sulfur and other additives inside the composite, and maintain the cross-linking degree of the matrix possibly by suppressing the adsorption of sulfur and other additives by silica. The regulated filler dispersity and matrix cross-linking strongly influence the dynamic rheological behaviors of the vulcanizates as a function of silica volume fraction. In comparison with silane, the introduction of ILs could improve the reinforcement effect, reduce energy dissipation, and lower the frequency dependences of loss modulus and loss tangent in the linear region.

Chemical Modification of Poly(1-Trimethylsylil-1-Propyne) for the Creation of Highly Efficient CO2-Selective Membrane Materials.

The work is devoted to the chemical modification of a polymer that is promising for the creation of gas separation membranes, aimed at increasing the selectivity with respect to CO2. The introduction of ionic liquids into the structure of poly(1-trimethylsilyl-1-propyne) is realized by a two-step process: bromination of the initial polymer with N-bromosuccinimide and subsequent addition of tertiary amine (N-butylimidazole) to it. Depending on the process conditions, the method allows polymers with different contents of the ionic liquid to be obtained. The obtained polymers show good film-forming properties and thermal stability. Depending on the content of the ionic liquid in the polymer matrix, the resistance to aliphatic alicyclic to the majority of halogenated, as well as aromatic hydrocarbons, increases. With an increase of the ionic liquid content in the polymer, the ideal selectivities of CO2/N2 and CO2/CH4 gas pairs increases while maintaining a high level of permeability.

Ionic Liquid Modified Inorganic Nanoparticles for Gaseous Phenol Adsorption

Ionic liquid modified silica nanoparticles were synthesized using a simple silane chemistry, followed by substitution reaction. The phenol adsorption performance was tested using temperature programmed desorption technique. The experimental results reveal that the introduction of ionic liquids on the surface of silica nanoparticles can improve the adsorption capacity of phenol compared to the pure silica nanoparticles. The initial adsorption capacity reaches 0.312 mmol·g−1 at 25 °C under total pressure of 0.2 bar and it decreases slightly in the following adsorption-desorption cycles. The results demonstrate that introduction of ionic liquids can improve the phenol adsorption capacity and the simple material preparation process is feasible for industrial applications.