• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.595-602
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• 2005

Ionic liquids (ILs) are the ionic salts pertaining to liquid-state at lower temperature than $100^{\circ}C$. ILs have attracted attention as new media because of their peculiar chemical, physical or electrical properties such as low volatility, nonflammability, liquid-phase stability at high temperature, high ability in solvating organic, inorganic or polymeric materials, and high ionic conductivity. Since the properties can be modified by assembling the pair using various anions and cations, ILs are often called designer solvents. In addition, ILs have been expected as new green media to replace the volatile organic solvents, which have been widely used in chemical, energy, material, and electronic industries, as well as to enhance the reaction activity and selectivity. In this review paper, the structures, properties, applications, and technology trend of ILS are introduced.