Thermodynamical properties of phase change materials based on ionic liquids

Ionic liquids have thermophysical and chemical properties that may be suitable for phase change materials (PCMs). Melting points, heats of fusion and heat capacities for a series of imidazolium-based ionic liquids or ethnolamine tetrafluoroborates have been measured by differential scanning calorimeter. The experimental results indicate that long-chain alkylimidazolium bromides are suited for use as PCMs. A quantitative structure-property relationship (QSPR) model for heat of fusion was constructed using six descriptors based on PM3 semi-empirical method. The calculated results gave reasonable correlation and prediction accuracy for 44 kinds of ionic liquids. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.