Review—Room-Temperature Ionic Liquids for Electrochemical Application with Special Focus on Gas Sensors

Abstract

Room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) are the most common electrolyte now a day, which is usually a molten salt comprised of cationic and anionic charge, generate a neutral species having high thermal stability and exceptional chemical property. Due to these unique properties, RTILs had been used for many applications as a solvent/electrolyte for decades. There are many RTILs, which possess good conductivity, as well as an optimum electrochemical window, which, is suitable for electrochemical sensor application. Among various electrochemical sensors available in the market, the electrochemical gas sensor is a popular device for environmental monitoring. The use of RTILs to the existing technology leads us to new era of sensing where we can able to address sensitivity, stability, robustness, and ability to do multiplex array along with the fundamental behind the electrochemical gas sensor. This paper is consisted of the electrical and electrochemical properties of some popular RTILs along with its application in electrochemical sensing, with a special focus on the electrochemical gas sensor. This review will help the general audience to fabricate the next-gen electrochemical sensor using RTILs.