https://doi.org/10.3390/app9132614
“Incorporating ILs in solid matrices emerged as a new and challenging field, allowing the use of heterogeneous systems for CO2 capture [22,23,24,25]. The immobilization process is usually carried out by cationic or anionic incorporation, or by cationic anchorage, or through in-situ polymerization via a sol–gel process [26,27]. In the case of cationic or anionic incorporation, the IL is synthesized and then fixed into the inorganic material through an IL cation or anion anchorage. In the case of the in situ polymerization via sol–gel process, the IL is used as a templating agent for the synthesis of silica xerogels due to its surfactant character and the low surface tension which enables control of the silica particle size, gelation time, structures, and morphology [28,29].
“With the immobilization of ILs in gels leading to ionogels, these materials are applied in electrochemistry devices to encapsulate functional molecules (catalysts, sensing molecules, fluorescent metal complexes) offering a new method to functionalize nanostructured inorganic materials [33,34]. The xerogel silica final structure is highly influenced by the nature of the alkyl-alkoxysilanes precursor such as the chain length, functionality, and its hydrophobic character. These properties can be modified adding a wide range of compounds to the alkyl-alkoxysilanes precursor, such as surfactants like ionic liquids [35].