Low melting and slightly viscous ionic liquids via protonation of trialkylamines by perfluoroalkyl β-diketones

New trialkylammonium perfluoroalkyl β-diketonate salts are obtained in one-step reactions by taking advantage of proton transfer from perfluoroalkyl β-diketones to tertiary amines. The charge associated with the β-diketonate anion is considerably delocalized, which may play a role in giving rise to low melting and thermally stable salts with low viscosities and densities.