Ionic liquids � by definition pure salts with melting points below 100�C � have made their way from laboratory curiostities to functional fluids for a wide range of applications. While in the beginning ionic liquids were mostly regarded as alternative �green� solvents for catalysis they are now used in many different applications such as energy conversion[1], energy storage[1], lubricants[[2]], electrolytes, solvents[[3]] or analytical applications[[4]].Their high heat capacity, low vapor and incombustibly make them to promising candidates as thermal fluids. A limiting factor thereby is the resistance to thermal decomposition. Many ILs are misleadingly reported in the literature to be stable to high temperatures.[5] In case of short-term heating, there are ionic liquids which are stable up to 400�C. However, the major challenge is having fluids with a long-term thermal stability.As well as for other application of ILs, an important point is to utilize the existing variety of options to produce tailor-made compounds. Developing stable ILs requires the prevention of the degradation pathway.Based on our investigations we will report an overview about thermally stable ILs. By pre-selecting a comprehensive matrix of different anions and cations from our substance library of more than 600 compounds, using known physical and chemical data from literature and from our data pool, we identified in carefully chosen screening tests novel interesting structural motifs. The relation between structure and technical performance will be discussed, leading finally to an outlook of upcoming commercial applications. [1] J. F. Wishart, Energy Environ. Sci., 2009 , 2, 956�961.[2] I. Minami, Molecules 2009 , 12, 2286-2305.[3] P. Wasserscheid, T. Welton, �Ionic Liquids in Synthesis�Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2008 .[4] J. L. Anderson, D. W. Armstrong, G.T. Wei, Anal. Chem., 2006 , 78, 2892�2902.5  F. T. J. Wooster, K. M. Johanson, K. J. Fraser, D.  R. MacFarlane, J. L. Scott, Green Chem.  2006 ,    8, 691�696.

Novel aspects for the use of ionic liquids as thermal fluids

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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