The demand for increasingly clean and efficient chemical syntheses is becoming more urgent from both an economic and an environmental standpoint. Many technologies rely on large quantities of hazardous even toxic solvents. A promising and now established approach is the development of new, ionic solvents that are fluid at room temperature. These solvents not only have the potential to increase chemical reactivity and thus lead to more efficient processes, but are also non-flammable and are less toxic than conventional solvents due to their low vapor pressure. This volume brings together the latest developments in this fascinating field, supplemented by numerous practical tips, and thus provides those working in both research and industry with an indispensable source of information.

Professor Peter Wasserscheid of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg is a young and ambitious researcher and one of the leading experts in the field of ionic liquids. He received the DECHEMA award of the Max-Buchner Research Foundation.

Dr. Thomas Welton (Imperial College London) is investigating the chemical and physical properties of ionic liquids.

Preface.

Contributors.

INTRODUCTION.

SYNTHESIS AND PURIFICATION OF IONIC LIQUIDS.

Synthesis of Ionic Liquids.

Quality Aspects and Other Questions Related to Commercial Ionic Liquid Production.

Synthesis of Task-specific Ionic Liquids.

PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF IONIC LIQUIDS.

Melting Points and Phase Diagrams.

Viscosity and Density of Ionic Liquids.

Solubility and Solvation in Ionic Liquids.

Gas Solubilities in Ionic Liquids.

Polarity.

Electrochemical Properties of Ionic Liquids.

MOLECULAR STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS.

Order in the Liquid State and Structure.

Quantum Mechanical Methods for Structure Elucidation.

Molecular Dynamics Simulation Studies.

Translational Diffusion.

Molecular Reorientational Dynamics.

ORGANIC SYNTHESIS.

Stoichiometric Organic Reactions and Acid-Catalyzed Reactions in Ionic Liquids.

Transition Metal Catalysis in Ionic Liquids.

Ionic Liquids in Multiphasic Reactions.

Multiphasic Catalysis with Ionic Liquids in Combination with Compressed CO2.

INORGANIC SYNTHESIS.

Directed Inorganic and Organometallic Synthesis.

Making of Inorganic Materials by Electrochemical Methods.

POLYMER SYNTHESIS IN IONIC LIQUIDS.

Introduction.

Acid-catalyzed Cationic Polymerization and Oligomerization.

Free Radical Polymerization.

Transition Metal-catalyzed Polymerization.

Preparation of Conductive Polymers.

Conclusions.

BIOCATALYTIC REACTIONS IN IONIC LIQUIDS.

Introduction.

Biocatalytic Reactions and their Special Needs.

Examples of Biocatalytic Reactions in Ionic Liquids.

Conclusions and Outlook.

OUTLOOK.

INDEX.