Imidazolium salts having liquid crystal characteristics, useful as electrolytes

Novel imidazolium salts of formula (I) are described in which R is a C 1 -C 14 alkyl group, optionally substituted by one or more fluorine atoms, or a C 2 -C 18 alkoxyalkyl group, R' is an alkyl group containing at least 8 carbon atoms, at least 6 of which are partially or entirely fluorinated, R" is hydrogen or C 1 -C 3 alkyl, Z is an organic or inorganic anion, and Q is further defined. The compounds of formula (I) are liquid crystals over a wide temperature range, and are characterised by high conductivity, hydrophobicity and stability. These properties made them ideally suitable for use in devices based on electrochemical reactions, such as solar cells, fuel cells, electrochemical sensors, lithium batteries and capacitors, etc.