One of the Queen's Anniversary Prizes for Higher and Further Education was recently awarded to Queen's University Ionic Liquids Laboratories (QUILL), Belfast, for their groundbreaking work on the development of ionic liquids as alternatives to conventional solvents.

Professor Ken Seddon, Director of QUILL, is widely recognised as a pioneer in the field of ionic liquids.  He has been associated with Green Chemistry since it launched in 1998.  Currently a member of the journal's international advisory editorial board, he has published a number of very highly cited papers in this exciting area of chemistry.  His work has contributed to the establishment of QUILL as the world's leading centre in ionic liquids research.

"Ionic liquids act as solvents for a broad spectrum of chemical processes and can dissolve a wide range of materials - even rocks, coal and almost anything organic - amazingly well," explained Professor Seddon.  "However, unlike conventional solvents, they do not emit vapours.  Put quite simply, they have remarkable properties which have tremendous applications in the development of clean technology for manufacturing processes.  They are the basis of a whole new industrial technology."

Ionic liquids are non-volatile organic salts with melting points often lower than room temperature.  Used in place of more traditional organic solvents, they have the advantage of eliminating VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions and also improving yields.

Renowned throughout the world as a leading centre in pioneering research on ionic liquids, QUILL has worked with a number of industrial partners including BP, BASF, ICI and Shell.