Synthesis and characterization of anilinium ionic liquids: Exploring effect of π-π ring stacking

•Ionic liquids are materials with a lot of potential in the field.•Structural study of ionic liquid is essential in designing ionic liquid for specific purpose.•Ring π-π contributes to the overall interaction between cation and anions. Ionic Liquids are defined as liquid salt composing of bulky molecular ions. They are generally classified as electrolyte with melting point lower than 100 °C. Subtle changes in the structure of the anilinium cations greatly affect the physical properties of the organic salt. The m-toluidine was found to have the lowest melting point while the p-toluidine has the highest melting point with almost 100 °C difference. Addition of stoichiometric amount of water resulted a relatively viscous solvate ionic liquid. Solid structure reveals that π-π ring interaction greatly affects that melting point of these anilinium salts.