Combustible ionic liquids by design: is laboratory safety another ionic liquid myth?

Abstract

The non-flammability of ionic liquids (ILs) is often highlighted as a safety advantage of ILs over volatile organic compounds (VOCs), but the fact that many ILs are not flammable themselves does not mean that they are safe to use near fire and/or heat sources; a large group of ILs (including commercially available ILs) are combustible due to the nature of their positive heats of formation, oxygen content, and decomposition products.