The 5th Australasian Symposium on Ionic Liquids was held in May 2012 in Clayton, Australia, and brought together internationally recognised researchers in a discipline that crosses borders incorporating theory, chemistry, and engineering. This research front, dedicated to ionic liquids, comprises a selection of papers representing the current look of this emerging field.

The use of ionic liquids as multifunctional solvents for lignin processing is reviewed. This includes the selective isolation of lignin from lignocellulosic materials such as wood and other biomass, and depolymerization of lignin to yield aromatic feedstock molecules for the chemical industry.

Computer-aided molecular design (CAMD) is a technique that helps select potential target molecules that will have desired properties before synthesis and testing in the laboratory, and provides an excellent complement to the chemical intuition possessed by experimentalists. In this overview, we present the general methodology for CAMD, and describe recent progress in this area related to ionic liquids.

A combination of experimental methods (DSC + TGA) with theoretical methods (quantum chemical calculations and MD simulations) provided benchmark thermochemical values for ionic liquid [C₄Py][Cl].

Dissolution of microcrystalline cellulose with ionic liquid and regeneration of cellulose by adding poor solvent cause the change of crystal allomorph and crystallinity of cellulose. These structural differences affect the adsorption ability of cellulase on the surface of regenerated cellulose and the enzymatic digestibility by monocomponent cellulase.

We prepared bacterial cellulose membranes from nata de coco, an indigenous dessert of the Philippines, as a base polymer in the liquid membrane process. In the presence of Aliquat 336 (tri(C₈–C₁₀)methyl ammonium chloride) as an ionic liquid, we obtained stable bacterial cellulose membranes. Quinoline and pyridine successfully permeated through the membranes against heptane.

We report on the role of protic ionic liquids in enhancing the conversion of Aβ 16–22 monomers into amyloid fibrils. This is a process which is implicated in Alzheimer’s disease.

In this paper, it is shown that lithium deposition in a polystyrene sphere opal structure can lead to hollow spheres or to a regular macroporous structure, depending on the experimental conditions.

An investigation of the polymerisation reaction of pyrrole and 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene using FeCl₃·6H₂O in the room temperature ionic liquid C₄mpyrTFSI reveals that H⁺, present due to deprotonation of coordinated waters, may itself act as the chemical oxidant for the polymerisation reaction.

Four series of additives have significant influence on the speciation and morphology of aluminium electrodeposition. The smoothness or uniformity of deposits can be adjusted by using different additives. Moreover, some of the aluminium deposits are nanocrystalline in nature.

In this paper, it is shown that electrochemically made self-standing aluminium nanowires are promising as host materials for lithium in lithium-ion batteries. Lithium deposition/stripping in this material delivers an amperometric charge density close to 800 mAh g^–1 with ionic liquids as electrolyte. The material does not show tremendous degradation after at least 50 CV cycles.

The effect of storage time on the cyclability of lithium electrodes in 0.5 m LiBF₄/[C₃mpyr⁺][FSI^–] was investigated. Chemical interaction results in surface passivation and impacts on the charging/discharging process. The electrode resistance decreased after cycling due to significant structural rearrangement of the surface layer.

The physical chemistry of an ionic liquid electrolyte with the addition of water and different metal salts is explored with numerous techniques including NMR. The conductivity of the electrolytes increases an order of magnitude when saturated with water. The metal salts interestingly also increase conductivity at low water concentrations.

Complete separation of some water-soluble proteins was facilitated in a moment by the salting-in of the hydrated ionic liquid phase.

Surface tensiometry of binary mixtures of ethylammonium nitrate, ethanolammonium nitrate, and water reveals amphiphilic character for the ethylammonium cation, but not for ethanolammonium. The surface film incorporates nitrate counterions, and electrostatic and H-bonding interaction, rather than alkyl chain packing, determine the saturated adsorbed film structure.

1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethylsulfate ([C₂mim][EtSO₄]) was mixed with iron(III) chloride•6H₂O to give a magnetic ionic liquid composed of the hybrid-type anion, [C₂mim][FeCl₃•EtSO₄], which showed a slightly different magnetic property than [C₂mim][FeCl₄]_. On the other hand, reaction of [C₂mim][EtSO₄] with cobalt(II) chloride hydrate formed [C₂mim]₂[Co^IICl₄], the structure of which was characterised by X-ray crystallographic analysis.