A quantum mechanical study of alkylimidazolium halide ionic liquids

Thirty imidazolium (IM) halide compounds were studied using quantum chemical calculations. Geometry optimization and interaction energy calculations were performed using the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) method for ions composed of one alkylimidazolium cation and two or three halogen anions. The obtained structures were consistent with experimental results. In addition, a linear correlation between melting points and interaction energies was obtained for the compounds studied, and this relationship was consistent with that obtained for amino acid cation based ionic liquids. Our Letter demonstrates the potential for quantum mechanical calculations to predict the melting points of ionic liquids.