Surfaces and Interfaces of Ionic Liquids

655. WE-Heraeus-Seminar

04 Dec - 06 Dec 2017

Where:

Physikzentrum Bad Honnef

Scientific organizers:

Prof. H.P. Steinrück • Dr. F. Maier, U Erlangen-Nürnberg

Ionic liquids (ILs), salts with a melting point below 100 °C, are an interesting class of liquid materials with unique property profiles originating from a complex interplay of Coulombic, hydrogen bonding, and van der Waals interactions of their ions. Their structural diversity results into nearly unlimited possibilities to combine cations and anions with different properties. Consequently, the physico-chemical properties of ILs can be tuned over a wide range, and ILs can be adapted to specific applications, ranging from catalysis, electrochemistry, green chemistry to green engineering or analytics. In many cases, the interfaces of ILs with their environment (gas/vacuum, liquid or solid) play a key role: The chemical composition and the molecular arrangement can be very different from that in the bulk, and a molecular level understanding is considered indispensable for predicting macroscopic surface and interface properties.

In this seminar, we bring together and highly interdisciplinary group of international leading scientists and young investigators with a research focus on the surfaces and interfaces of ionic liquids, using a large variety of advanced experimental or theoretical approaches.

The unique format of a Wilhelm and Else-Heraeus-Seminar provides the perfect setting for intense scientific exchange and the development of new ideas and collaborations.