Ionic liquids (ILs) are considered to be very promising group of chemicals and the number of their potential applications is growing rapidly. However, while these compounds were originally proposed as a green alternative to classical solvents, there are certain doubts as to whether this classification is correct. Although in recent years there have been first reports published proving the presence of some ILs in the environment and even in human blood, at this point the scale of this possible problem is not yet fully understood. However, there is no doubt that as the number of ILs applications increases, analytical capabilities for rapid detection of possible environmental contamination should be also considered. Therefore, in this review paper, recent evidences for the ILs environmental contamination as well as analytical achievements related to the extraction of ILs from various environmental matrices have been summarized and important gaps and future perspectives have been pointed out. Based on the presented data it might be concluded that there is the urgent need for further development towards risk assessment of these potential environmental contaminants.
Keywords: Ammonium; Emerging contaminants; Environmental pollution; Extraction; Imidazolium; SPE.
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