Green bipropellants: Hydrogen-rich ionic liquids that are hypergolic with hydrogen peroxide

Abstract

Lift-off: The low vapor toxicity of ionic liquids (ILs) make them attractive replacements for hydrazine in rocket fuel. However, ILs will fail to fulfill their revolutionary promise unless toxic oxidizers such as HNO 3 or N2O4 can be replaced with safer alternatives such as H2O2. The ILs presented here are hypergolic with H2O2 (see picture) and are hydrogen-rich, thus helping to boost performance. © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.