Alkylsulfuric acid ionic liquids: a promising class of strongly acidic room-temperature ionic liquids

Abstract

Strongly acidic (pKa ≈ -3.5) room-temperature ionic liquids (ILs) with -OSO3H functionalized cations are introduced. The strong acidity, easy synthesis, and better physical properties of these R-OSO3H ILs make them excellent alternatives to the well-known sulfonic acid (R-SO3H) ILs, especially in the domain of metal processing.