Faraday Discussion 154: Ionic Liquids, 22 - 24 August 2011, Belfast, UK

Faraday Discussion 154: Ionic Liquids

22 - 24 August 2011
Belfast, UK

Introduction

Room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) are currently the focus of an intense research effort because of their remarkable potential for applications coupled to favourable environmental properties. On a more fundamental level, RTILs constitute an important class of highly correlated Coulomb fluids whose molecular constituents are complex ions with tunable shape and size. The hybrid organic- ionic nature of RTILs and the resulting interplay between different intermolecular forces give rise to a complex phenomenology whose decoding requires the close integration of experimental, theoretical and computational methods.

This meeting will discuss fundamental experimental and theoretical aspects of the physical chemistry of RTILs.

Aims

RTILs constitute a new and exciting playground for interdisciplinary research in soft condensed matter.

The main aims of the meeting are:

To bring together experts in complex fluids, ionic systems and soft condensed matter sharing a common interest in charged fluids.
To examine the state of the art of experimental and theoretical developments regarding thermodynamics, interfacial behaviour, microscopic structure and molecular dynamics of ionic liquids.
To highlight emerging problems, identify new research directions and maximize the dissemination of information.
To promote the interest of young scientists and students allowing a forum for them to interact with experts in ionic and molecular soft condensed matter.