ABSTRACT
Room-temperature ionic liquids (ILs) are extensively investigated as a replacement for organic solvents in chemistry, in general, and in chemical analysis, in particular. ILs have a considerable potential as solvents for separations. It is believed that, being typically non ammable and nonvolatile compounds, they may help to design environmentally safe processes. Another quite attractive feature of IL solvents is that their polarity, hydrophobicity, viscosity, and other physical and chemical properties may be relatively easily altered by changing the nature of the cationic or anionic constituent. Also, high solvation ability and ionic nature of ILs make them promising candidates for solving a challenging problem of ef cient extraction of ionic and zwitterionic compounds from aqueous solutions, including bio liquids. Evidently, an IL solvent may act as a provider of hydrophobic counterions for extraction, supplying them in high concentration.
