Thermal stability of ionic liquids assessed by potentiometric titration

Abstract

The long-term thermal stability of imidazolium-based ionic liquids is addressed here. We have found that potentiometric titration is a precise, low-cost and quick analytical method to assess the quality changes occurring during the thermal aging of ionic liquids. Using this protocol, we have discovered that imidazolium-based ionic liquids start to decompose, to a small extent, at much lower temperatures than those inferred from thermogravimetric analysis.