Generalizable Synthesis of Highly Fluorinated Ionic Liquids.

The unique chemistry of fluorocarbons (in particular, their weak intermolecular interactions and high degree of intrinsic free volume) makes them promising building blocks for ionic liquids with high gas capacities. Here, we report a generalizable method for the synthesis of fluorinated ionic liquids, which relies on the evolution of gaseous byproducts to drive product formation. This synthetic strategy overcomes solubility challenges that can hinder the synthesis of highly fluorinated ionic liquids via conventional methods and enables a systematic investigation of the effect of fluorination on ionic liquid viscosity and gas solubility.