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The review reports an aqueous solution behavior of commercially available and easy-to-use polymers, i.e., Pluronics®- and PNIPAM-based block copolymers. Both the polymers are stimuli responsive in nature. The present review covers the different aspects of aggregation behavior of Pluronics®- and PNIPAM-based block copolymeric micelles. Here, a comparison of physical properties such as EO–PO block, CP, CMC and CMT is made. Such physical parameters can be modulated with ease by the presence of external stimuli, viz. electrolytes, organic additives such as alcohols, phenols, amides and acids, different types of surfactants and water-soluble polymers, and also by modification of end groups of Pluronics®. But in this review, our main focus is to study the addition of salts and non-electrolytes on the aggregation behavior of Pluronics®. With the help of above parameters, users can get idea about the stability, partition coefficient, solubilization capacity, etc. In analogy with Pluronics®, PNIPAM is also a thermo-responsive polymer with ~ 32 °C lower critical solution temperature (LCST). However, the LCST is independent of the degree of polymerization, i.e., molecular weight of homopolymer. However, the LCST can be tuned in the presence of external stimulus. PNIPAM-based di-block copolymers form various morphologies in different environments. An inverted morphology by double-hydrophilic-block copolymers is also possible. According to US and British Pharmacopoeia, some of the Pluronics® and PNIPAM are recognized as pharmaceutical excipients. Therefore, they have been extensively used for various pharmaceutical formulations. The other applications of these polymers are tissue engineering, bioseparation devices, active membranes, biosensors, rheological modifier, lithium batteries, etc.

In a world where conventional sources of energy are fast depleting, the quest for alternative energy sources may hold the key for the survival of humanity. In the present work, we have tried to generate energy from perovskite-based solar cells. In order to bring this idea into fruition, a newly developed nano perovskite material n-propyl ammonium lead chloride (C3H7NH3+PbCl3−) was chosen and fabricated via co-precipitation pathway. Here n-propyl amine (n-C3H7NH2), and hydrochloric acid and aqueous solution of Pb(CH3COO)23H2O were used as the starting precursors. Acetic acid was added to the solution at the final stage to maintain the optimum pH of the reaction medium and then the solution was gradually concentrated and cooled down to room temperature. Later, the synthesized material was layered on TiO2 film through spin-coating to generate the targeted device. The device then underwent systematic analysis using XRD, SEM, UV and photo conversion to get a transparent idea regarding its structural, electrical and optical properties. When experimentally applied, this newly developed perovskite-based solar cell has generated appreciable amount of energy conversion efficiency (η) and it is around 6.01%. Thus, it can be concluded that this material is an effective building block of efficient solar cells. This technology can be tried in large scale as a source of nonconventional energy in the upcoming days.

In the present work, we have synthesized three novel organic sensitizers, based on various donor groups which are in conjugation with similar bridge and acceptor moieties. We have studied the effect of donor groups with common bridge and anchoring group sensitizers on optical, electrochemical, dye sensitized solar cell’s performance and electron transfer interface properties as well. We have also represented systematically analysis of influence of donor groups in structural geometry, energy distribution and energy-transfer from HOMO to LUMO by density functional theory. The B2 sensitizer contains highly conjugated, strong electron withdrawing group and electron transfer form donor group to anchoring group happens much more rapid in it compared to other two sensitizers. However, B2 sensitizer has exhibited 6.23% efficiency under 1 sun light illumination. The influence of donor groups on device performance was clearly shown on IPCE spectrum as well. The studied effect of chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) in a sensitizer’s solution as a co-absorbent on the DSSCs performance and exhibited highest efficiency (6.68%). We found that co-absorbent can be hinder the sensitizer aggregation and rise electron injection yield and thus short circuit current (Jsc). The device interface kinetics was studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and calculated electron lifetime, interface charge transfer resistance and recombination resistance by fitted equivalent circuit. Moreover, we have checked high performance device stability up to 700 h, under continuous 1 sun light illumination.

In the present work, we have designed and synthesized two carbazole and phenothiazine donor moieties based metal-free organic sensitizers and their codes are WCBZ2 and WPTZ2 respectively. These sensitizers have been used for photocatalytic hydrogen (H2) evaluation application. The sensitizers exhibit good light absorption capability and electrochemical properties as well. For increasing water splitting capacity, incorporate platinum salt on TiO2 semiconductor photoanode was performed and compared hydrogen evolution with pure TiO2 photoanode. We have also studied the influence of the sensitizer's concentration and the effect of pH of the medium was explored. Using a theoretical measurement optimized both the synthesized dimer dyes structure geometry and the calculated their HOMO-LUMO energy level. Here also reported optimized pH and concentration of sensitizers in the reaction medium and found that the high hydrogen generation efficiency from water splitting is 138.3 μmol (348 TONs) by the WPTZ2 dye.

In the present work, we design and synthesized of TEMPO(TEMPO-I = 2-((2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-(l1-oxidanyl)piperidin-4-yl)oxy)ethan-1-amine and TEMPO-III = tris(2-((2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-(l1-oxidanyl)piperidin-4-yl)oxy)ethyl)amine)-based redox couple electrolytes and used in the application of dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSCs). After preparation, the TEMPO-based redox couples are characterised by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. The conventional electrolyte BIMI (1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium iodide) was incorporated into the TEMPO redox couple, and a comparative study was performed. Such type TEMPO-III/BIMI hybrid redox couple displayed the highest photo-current density (Jsc) and enhanced photo-voltage (Voc) and an efficiency (ɳ = 5.12%) upon 1 sun light illumination. EIS was performed to investigate the inter-kinetic and recombination dynamics of the fabricated devices. The best-performing devices underwent long-term stability verification.

Here in design and synthesized new dimer organic metal free dyes based on various donor moieties along with dihydrothieno [3,4-b][1,4] dioxine and cynoacrylic acid are bridge and acceptor respectively. The influence of dye consist various donor moieties like phenothiazine (PTZ), phenoxazine (POZ) and carbazole (CBZ) studied carefully. The same donor and acceptor groups optical and electrochemical properties change when we change donor groups. The all dyes structure geometry optimization and energy levels (HOMO-LUMO) was calculated by density functional theory (DFT) with B3LYP/6-31G(d.p) basis set. It is evident from the studies that the strong electron withdrawing donor moiety based dye, POZ-102 exhibit highest short circuit current density (Jsc), open circuit voltage (Voc) and efficiency (η = 6.4%). The inside device electron recombination and electron lifetime was calculated by impedance spectroscopy and open circuit voltage decay techniques. In last the highest efficiency achieved POZ-102 dye based device checked long term stability up to 500hr under 100 mW/cm2 light illumination.

A novel series of coumarin based dyes were designed and synthesised with coumarin donor (D) moiety, various thiophene bridge (Th-π) unit and –CNCHCOOH acceptor (A). The dye sensitized solar cells' (DSSCs) performance, optical and electrochemical properties of coumarin dyes were examined systematically. Moreover, optimization calculations for the geometries of all the coumarin dyes with various Th-bridge units were studied by DFT (density functional theory). CDT-3 dye containing three Th- unit shows the highest short circuit current (Jsc = 15.14 mA/cm2) and efficiency is 6.02% under 1 sunlight (100 mW/cm2, AM1.5) illumination. The DSSCs devices with all three coumarin dyes exhibit good, long term stability up to 500hr.

We have developed a new series of pyridinium based dicationic ionic liquids (DCILs) having excellent thermal stability and good ionic conductivity. The effectiveness of these DCIL based electrolytes in photovoltaic devices and the effect of different anions (e.g. iodine, bromide, and thiocyanate) versus the device performance are studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV), current–voltage (I–V) characteristics and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The electrolyte 2PrSCN based device C exhibited the highest photo conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.23% under 1 sun (100 mW cm−2) illumination of light. We have also analyzed the influence of various anions in metal-free dye-sensitized TiO2 and the DCIL interface using the EIS technique. Device C based on 2PrSCN shows excellent long-term stability, maintaining

The effect of co-absorbance on the performance of DSSC devices with a new design of dimer sensitizers possessing a 2,5-dihydropyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-dione (DPP) bridge and various donor groups (carbazole, diphenyl amine, indole) is reported in the present work. The co-absorbent (CDCA = chenodeoxycholic acid) was inserted into the sensitizers and the photovoltaic performance was studied. The co-absorbent had a significant effect on Jsc, Voc and the efficiency. Without incorporation of the co-absorbent, a higher efficiency of around 4.40% is exhibited (Jsc = 9.91 mA cm−2 and Voc = 0.678 V) by the R3 device, while after adding the co-absorbent, we have achieved an efficiency of around 4.44% (Jsc = 10.3 mA cm−2 and Voc = 0.693 V). Structure optimization and energy level calculations were carried out by density functional theory (DFT) with different donor substituents and DPP bridge based sensitizers. The co-absorbent and sensitizer based DSSCs were also characterised by impedance spectroscopy and incident photon to current conversion efficiency measurements.

Stimuli-responsive di-block copolymers viz. poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)m-block-poly(butyl-3-vinylimidazolium bromide)n [abbreviated as PNIPAMm-b-PBVIBn m = 50 and 100, n = 54 and 115] were synthesized using RAFT (Reversible addition−fragmentation chain-transfer) polymerization. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy were used to characterize the block copolymer. Turbidity data shows that the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of PNIPAM is independent of the molecular weight. No LCST behavior was estimated for PBVIB58 in an aqueous media. The addition of 2.75 M NaCl brings LCST of PBVIB58 to room temperature. The cloud point temperature (CPT) of both the block copolymers increases with an increase in the degree of polymerization of PBVIB. Scattering techniques confirm the molecular state of all the homopolymers at 28 °C in the dissolved condition. With an increase in temperature and the presence of sodium chloride (NaCl), both the copolymers remain as aggregates with PNIPAM as a core and PBVIB as a shell. The reverse structure is formed via the addition of 10 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) into PNIPAM100-b-PBVIB54 solution.

We have developed a new series of pyridinium-imidazolium based tricationic ionic crystals with high conductivity, diffusion coefficient and thermal stability. These ionic crystal based electrolytes in ss-DSSCs and the influence of anions (I−, Br− and SCN−) versus the device performances are studied by steady-state voltammography, I-V characteristics and impedance spectroscopy. The PySCN based solid state electrolyte has achieved an optimized efficiency of 7.7% under 100 mWcm−2 and the device based on this solid electrolyte (PySCN) shows an excellent long-term stability, maintaining 95% of the initial efficiency after 600 h.

The ordered porous materials, developed using various templating materials, have generated huge interest among the electrochemist community due to their plenty of unique properties and functionalities that can be effectively applied in optoelectronic devices. Mesoporous materials possess excellent opportunities in energy storage and energy conversion applications due to their extraordinarily high surface area and large pore size. These properties may enhance the performance of porous materials in terms of lifetime and stability, energy and power density. In this review, we have tried to club the fields of optoelectronics and mesoporous materials. Also, we have summarised the primary methods for preparing mesoporous materials using various templates and described their applications as electrodes and catalysts in fuel cells, solar fuel production, dye-sensitised solar cells, perovskite, supercapacitors and rechargeable batteries. Finally, we have highlighted the research and development challenges of mesoporous materials those need to be overcome to enhance their contribution in renewable energy applications.

In the present work, hydroxy butyl methyl cellulose-based quasi-solid-state polymer gel electrolyte has been prepared by incorporating I−/I3 − couple in ethylene carbonate and propylene carbonate. This bare electrolyte’s properties have been investigated first time by additional doping of amino pyridine analogous moieties such as pyridin-4-amine, di(pyridin-4-yl)amine, and tri(pyridin-4-yl)amine moiety. Effect on ionic conductivity, triiodide diffusion, glass transition temperature, rheology, and photovoltaic performance in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) was briefly evaluated. Addition of dopant creates amorphous loops in the gel matrix, and dopant has lone pair of electrons at the N of pyridile, which attracts the Li+ species of LiI making smooth and fast diffusion of triiodides. Tg and XRD characterizations were performed to prove the immense effect on physical properties. TPA-doped electrolyte shows 4.3 mS/cm conductivity and has explored 3.67% power conversion efficiency in DSSC with N719 sensitizer. This non-volatile type of electrolyte-based DSSCs performs efficiently up 600 h in one sun illumination.

The performance of DSSCs (dye sensitized solar cells) with a new series of dyes having different halide groups (i.e. F, Cl and Br) on o-position substituted phenyl spacers with same coumarin donor moieties have been reported. Optical, electrochemical, molecular orbital and photovoltaic properties were studied by varying the halide groups using these dyes. The replacement of halide atoms in same coumarin based dye had a significant effect on the short circuit current density (Jsc), open circuit voltage (Voc), and photo conversion efficiency (PCE). The Jsc and PCE of dye CD-1 (fluorine substituted) are 10.3 mA/cm2 and 5.2% respectively, which is higher than CD-2 (chlorine substituted) and CD-3 (bromine substituted) dyes (having PCE 4.1% and 3.5% respectively) devices. The optimized geometry calculation of o-halide phenyl π-spacer dyes were ascertained by density functional theory (DFT) using the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) basis set. Moreover, we have checked the effect of various substituents in the same dye structure by DFT analysis.

The synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of task-specific ionic liquid (TSIL) and its surface active properties are depicted in this study. The detailed synthesis protocol for C n PyCl ( n = 4, 6, 8) along with C n PyDs are discussed. The physical properties of ILs including their solubility in various organic solvent are given. The synthesized ILs is characterized by 1 H NMR, IR, MS and thermal methods From the TGA analysis, it found that the stability is increases by replacing anion (Cl − ) by dodecylsulphate of ILs. The C n PyDs has very limited solubility in water, therefore they are making stable micelles and their geometry and size is determined by Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) measurements. We have demonstrated that micellar behaviour of TSIL in water by SANS and surface tension measurements.

Generation of alternative source of energy is one of the talks of the present decade. In the present work, the focus has been given to produce energy from perovskite-based solar cells. For this purpose, a unique and novel nano-structured perovskite material ethyl ammonium lead chloride (C2H5NH3 +PbCl3 −) was prepared through a novel co-precipitation route using ethyl amine (C2H5NH2) and hydrochloric acid as the starting precursors with aqueous solution of Pb(CH3COO)23H2O. Finally acetic acid was added in the solution, and this solution was allowed to concentrate and cooled down at room temperature. Then the synthesized material was deposited over TiO2 film in order to fabricate the solar cell. Systematic study using XRD, SEM, UV, and photo conversion were conducted to properly analyze the structural, optical, and electrical properties of device. In the presence of light, this perovskite-based solar cell has shown energy conversion efficiency (η) of around 5.2% which is appreciably good. This result has depicted that this material is promising material for fabrication of highly efficient solar cells. This technology can be applied in industrial scale as substitute of the conventional energy in the future.

The interaction of ionic liquids (ILs) with non-ionic triblock copolymer, Pluronic® P123, in aqueous solutions has been investigated using Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) measurements. The mi...

The interaction of ionic liquids (ILs) with non-ionic triblock copolymer, Pluronic® P123 in aqueous solutions has been investigated using DLS, surface tension, and viscosity measurements. The addition of ILs increased the Critical Micelle Concentration (CMC) of P123, which appears to be logistic. As the added IL enhances the solubility of PPO moiety (and PEO), which makes them to behave like a more hydrophilic block copolymer that would be micellized at high copolymer concentration. The DLS data is in good agreement to the results observed from surface tension measurements. Viscosity results show the propensity in micellar size reduction upon addition of ILs, and hence, intrinsic viscosity decreases as compared to pure P123 aqueous solution. The results are studied and discussed as a function of cationic head groups of N-octyl-pyridinium/imidazolium chloride based ILs.

Ionic liquids (ILs) have emerged as an environmentally friendly alternative to the volatile organic solvents. ILs which are made up of cationic and anionic components can be designed to possess a definite set of properties. In this context, the term “designer solvents” has been used to demonstrate the potential of these environment-friendly ILs in chemical reactions. Being designer solvents, they can be modulated to suit the reaction conditions, therefore earning the name “task specific ILs.” Since these liquids are able to dissolve several transition metal complexes, they have often been employed in recent times in several catalytic organic reactions to enhance reaction rates and selectivity. Though primarily used as solvents, they are now finding applications in various fields like catalysis, electrochemistry, spectroscopy, and material science to mention a few. ILs is capable to restrict many of the negative effects of the conventional organic solvents or other catalysts during catalytic reactions and have successfully been used in various catalytic areas affording high catalytic activity. The present review is aimed at exploring the structural characteristics, properties, preparation and applications of ILs in catalytic organic transformations.

Pluronics® and Tetronics® are used in industry for solubilizing various kinds of hydrophobic compounds since decades. In present study, moderately hydrophobic linear and star block copolymer viz. Pluronic® P104 and Tetronic® T1304 are employed for the solubilization of four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) viz. naphthalene (Np), anthracene (An), phenanthrene (Ph) and pyrene (Py). The aggregation behaviour of these block copolymers in an aqueous media has been investigated by cloud point (CP), viscometry, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and small angle neutron scattering (SANS) techniques. The aqueous solubilities of these PAHs are quite poor, hence their extractions from contaminated areas are difficult. Cloud point of block copolymers linearly decreases as a function of PAHs concentration and strongly depends on the structure of PAHs. The aqueous solutions of both block copolymers are Newtonian fluid. The solubilization of PAHs in these copolymeric micelles leads to increase in the viscosity of solution suggesting the growth of micelles. The effect of concentration and temperature on the size and shapes of micelles were evaluated from DLS and SANS studies. The study provides an alternative method for the remediation of PAHs using inexpensive commercially available block copolymers.

The efficiency in the catalytic performance of halogen free functionalized room-temperature Bronsted acidic ionic liquids (BAILs), having different acidities (due to the ILs containing zero, a single, and or a double –SO3H functional group), for the esterification of n-butanol with acetic acid under various reaction conditions was investigated. The synthesized BAILs have much weaker corrosiveness than that of H2SO4. The nature of both counter anion and cation as well as the presence of additional functional (–SO3H) groups influenced the behavior of the catalyst. Interestingly, the acidic character of the ILs facilitates the reaction under extremely mild conditions, with a short reaction time, and reduction in the side reactions; moreover, the liquid–liquid biphasic reaction mode leads to good yields. The physicochemical properties of these BAILs were characterized by a variety of different analytical and spectroscopic techniques, such as NMR, FT-IR, mass spectrometry, TGA, and UV-vis spectroscopy for the determination of Hammett acidity. In particular, IL-5 having the highest acidity demonstrated excellent catalytic activity for esterification. An additional advantage of BAILs is the simple procedure for the separation of product and catalyst, where the catalysts can be easily recycled without the loss of catalytic activities, making IL-5 an important alternative catalyst for a commercially viable esterification process.

Humic acid (HA), a natural polymer and soil component, was explored as a photosensitizer in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Photophysical and electrochemical properties show that HA covers a broad visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum and exhibits a quasi-reversible nature in cyclic voltammetry (CV). Because of its abundant functionalities, HA was able to bind onto the nano-titania surface and possessed good thermal stability. HA was employed as a sensitizer in DSSCs and characterized by various photovoltaic techniques such as I–V, incident-photo-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and Tafel polarization. The HA-based device shows a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 1.4% under 1 sun illumination. The device performance was enhanced when a coadsorbent, chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA), along with HA was used and displayed 2.4% PCE under 0.5 sun illumination. The DSSCs employing HA with CDCA showed excellent stability up to 1000 h. The reported efficiency of devices with HA is better than that of devices with all natural sensitizers reported so far.

This review article provides an overview of the advances in the field of hydro-conversion of n-alkanes with particular stress on the promising ways to meet the requirements for improved quality of motor fuels and oils, which have been marked during the past decades. Particular attention is given to a catalyst formulation for conversion of n-alkanes to branched hydrocarbons. The particular challenge is to find an effective catalyst, which favors the isomerization of n-alkanes without too much cracking. The regulation of active sites and adsorption properties, as well as the topology of support surfaces, allows a potential predictive design of novel catalysts for conversion of n-alkanes into their branched isomers.

The non-ionic triblock copolymer, Pluronic® F127, has been selected to observe its interaction with ionic liquids (ILs) in aqueous solutions by using DLS, surface tension, and viscosity measurements. The Critical Micelle Concentration (CMC) of F127 increased with the addition of ILs, which appeared logical since it increases the solubility of PPO (and PEO) moiety, making it behaves more like a hydrophilic block copolymer that is micellized at a higher copolymer concentration. The results from DLS data showed good agreement with those obtained from the surface tension measurements. Upon the addition of ILs, the tendency in micellar size reduction was demonstrated by viscosity results, and therefore, intrinsic viscosity decreased compared to pure F127 in aqueous solution. The results were discussed as a function of alkyl chain length and anions of imidazolium based ILs.

The catalysts γ-alumina (GA, the reference catalyst) and Pt doped γ-alumina (PGA-s) were synthesized using a simple sol-gel technique, in which at first preparation of porous base (GA), then impregnation of platinum salt over the base and finally reduction of platinum in the surface of the support were done. These catalysts prepared in different mole ratios of Pt:Al as 2:1, 1:1 and 1:2 are named as PGA-1, PGA-2 and PGA-3 respectively. The isomerization of n-alkanes (n-hexane, n-heptane and n-octane) were investigated over the synthesized catalysts. The 2-methyl pentane (2-MP), 2,2-dimethyl pentane (2,2-DMP) and 2,3-dimethyl hexane (2,3-DMH) are the major products of respective isomerization of n-hexane, n-heptane and n-octane, besides a small amount of other branched isomers are also produced. The product distribution is comparable to that reported for Pt based other catalysts. The optimal mole ratios of Pt:Al is 1:1 (PGA-2) gives quite good catalytic activity for isomerization of n-alkane. Even through in reusability study, PGA-2 gives better performance than others. We have mainly focused on kinetic study, reaction mechanism behind isomerization and calculated the order of reactions and activation energies of the isomerization reactions in the present work. Keywords: Isomerization, n-alkanes, Catalyst, Reaction mechanism, Kinetics study, Activation energy

Catalytic isomerization of n-hexane to its corresponding branched liquid hydrocarbon isomers by three different ionic liquids (ILs) having general formula; [BmimCl·2AlCl3], [BPyCl·2AlCl3] and [Et3NHCl·2AlCl3] were investigated in the present work. Due to the optimum acidic nature of the ILs, the reaction moves through faint conditions in a liquid-liquid biphasic reaction mode, this confirms a minimum extent of unwanted cracking side-reactions. ILs showed good catalytic activity due to their appreciable Bronsted and Lewis acidity. The BmimCl·2AlCl3 and Et3NHCl·2AlCl3 show higher conversion of n-hexane compared to BPyCl·2AlCl3 under similar reaction condition. The selectivity of isomers is lower at higher conversion range. On increasing the reaction time and temperature, the conversion of n-hexane rises up, while the selectivity of i-alkanes and i-hexanes were reduced. The optimal reaction temperature, reaction time and IL/n-hexane ratio were 30 °C, 24 hand 1:1, respectively; the conversion of n-hexane is 25.7%, 11.52%, 36.3%, the selectivity to i-alkanes is 97.58%, 99.55%, 99.16%, and selectivity to i-hexane 87.28%, 70.10%, 95.86%, respectively.

Imidazolium-based metal and halogen-free Brönsted acidic ionic liquid (BAIL) (3,3′-(hexane-1,6-diyl)bis(2-methyl-1-(3-sulfopropyl)-1H-benzimidazolium) hydrogensulfate [HbMBIM-PS][HSO4] was synthesized. The physicochemical properties of this BAIL were investigated using a variety of different analytical and spectroscopic techniques such as 1H and13C-NMR, FT-IR, mass, UV–vis and TGA spectra. A porous silica matrix has been synthesized using BAIL and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) as silica source by nonhydrolytic sol–gel method. The properties of IL confined silica gel matrix have been studied using FTIR, TGA, SEM, N2-sorption measurement (BET characterization for determining pore parameters), and NH3-TPD techniques. From the N2-sorption measurement, it has been found that BET surface area decreased while pore volume, average pore size and porosity decreased. The thermal stability of the IL has been found to increase upon confinement in silica gel matrix. The results suggested that IL had been successfully confined on silica gel. This IL confined silica gel catalyst is environment friendly and useful for alkane isomerization and esterification reactions.