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Updated: Jul 17, 2026

From Molecules to Materials: Engineering New Ionic Liquid Crystals Through Halogen Bonding
Published on: March 24, 2018
Many protic ionic liquids mediate hydrocarbon-solvent interactions and promote amphiphile self-assembly
Tamar L Greaves1, Asoka Weerawardena, Celesta Fong
1CSIRO Molecular and Health Technologies (CMHT), Bag 10, Clayton, Victoria 3169, Australia.
Abstract:
A large number of protic ionic liquids (PILs) have been found to mediate solvent-hydrocarbon interactions and promote amphiphile self-assembly. Hexagonal, cubic, and lamellar lyotropic liquid crystalline phases were observed in PIL-hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide systems. The driving force for the formation of the self-assembled aggregate structures has been attributed to an entropic contribution to the free energy of association, analogous to the hydrophobic effect in water. The specific aggregate structures formed depend upon the cationic and anionic components of the PIL and their interactions with the amphiphiles.
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