Recent developments in the field of energetic ionic liquids

Abstract

Energetic ionic liquids (EILs) are a subset of the rapidly growing field of ionic liquid research. These liquid and stable high-energy materials (HEMs) have many benefits, ranging from ease of manufacture and transportation to enhanced safety, as well as many new applications. This review focuses on the developments in this field from 2005 to 2012, with emphasis on propulsion applications of these new materials. Both bipropellant systems (hypergolic EILs) and monopropellant systems (oxygen balanced EILs) are discussed.