In the late 1990s, there was an explosion of research on ionic liquids and they are now a major topic of academic and industrial interest with numerous existing and potential applications. Since then, the number of scientific papers focusing on ionic liquids has risen exponentially, including a few edited multi-author books covering the latest advances in ionic liquids chemistry and several volumes of symposium proceedings. Much of the content in these books and volumes is written using technical jargon that only scientists at the cutting edge of ionic liquids research will understand and ionic liquids are hardly covered in most modern chemistry textbooks. This is the first single-author book on ionic liquids and the first introductory book on the topic. An Introduction to Ionic Liquids is written in a clear, concise and consistent way and provides a useful introduction to ionic liquids for those readers who are not familiar with the topic. It is also wide ranging, embracing every aspect of the chemistry and applications of ionic liquids. The book draws extensively on the primary scientific literature to provide numerous examples of research on ionic liquids. These examples will enable the reader to become familiar with the key developments in ionic liquids chemistry over recent years. Science students, researchers, teachers in academic institutions and chemists and other scientists in industry and government laboratories will find the book an invaluable introduction to one of the most rapidly advancing and exciting fields of science and technology today.

Chapter 1: Introduction; Chapter 2: History; Chapter 3: Synthesis of Ionic Liquids; Chapter 4: Properties of Ionic Liquids; Chapter 5: Ionic Liquids as Designer Solvents; Chapter 6: The Green Credentials of Ionic Liquids; Chapter 7: Electrochemistry; Chapter 8: Catalysis; Chapter 9: Inorganic Chemistry; Chapter 10: General Organic Reactions; Chapter 11: Named Organic Reactions; Chapter 12: Biotechnology; Chapter 13: Analysis; Chapter 14: Applications; Subject Index