Boronium-cation-based ionic liquids as hypergolic fluids.

Two series of boronium-cation-based ionic liquids were prepared and fully characterized by (1)H, (13)C, and (11)B NMR and infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and elemental analysis. The structure of bis(1-methyl-1H-imidazole-3-yl)dihydroboronium dicyanoborohydride (5 a) was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The densities of these ionic liquids range from 1.05 to 1.28 g cm(-3), and the heats of formation, predicted on the basis of Gaussian 03 calculations, fall between -164.6 and 430.5 kJ mol(-1). Compound 5 b, bis(1-allyl-1H-imidazole-3-yl)dihydroboronium dicyanoborohydride, exhibits the lowest viscosity (35 mPa s) and shortest ignition-delay time (14 ms) in combination with 100 % HNO(3).