The history of molten salts research and applications is very long, but ionic liquids have attracted far more attention, particularly since early 1990s when room temperature molten organic salts were reported. Without using a furnace, experiments in ionic liquids become more convenient, although applications of ionic liquids are still at much smaller scales compared to those of molten salts. Nevertheless, apart from melting temperatures, research in the past three decades has revealed more contrary properties between these two types of liquid salts, such as ionic conductivity, viscosity and chemical stability. Discussions and debates have continued globally, but in the UK scientists gather twice a year to report and exchange views on research and technological development involving either or both liquid salts. Such a discussion is to take place in Churchill College, University of Cambridge between 12-14 (Monday to Wednesday) August 2019 (https://www.msdg.uk/summer-2019-research-meeting) when famous scientists, such as Prof. Sadoway (molten salts) and Welton (ionic liquids) will lead the discussions.
Very high concentrations of salts in water or other liquids could be called liquid salts but they are not molten salts. Molten salts such as LiNO3-KNO3 or LiCl-KCl do not contain any added liquids. They contain only positive and negative ions in a liquid form. Ionic liquids are quite different and are not true molten salts and should not be labeled as such.
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