The synthesis and use of ionic liquids (ILs) has increased steadily since their inception, driven by their distinctive useful properties. In cases where they replace harmful volatile organic solvents they are often considered “green” and in cases where they are recyclable, they may be considered sustainable. However, many of the properties—such as low volatility and stability—that make them attractive for applications also make them potential persistent contaminants, should they be released into the environment. Development of separation, detection, characterization, and quantitation methods for IL species—including degradation products—in different media has the potential to impact our understanding of recyclability and our evaluation of environmental impact. Development and evaluation of mass spectrometric means toward these goals is the focus of my research interests. This research goal aligns directly with the Eleventh Green Chemistry Principle (real-time analysis for pollution prevention). Evaluating and understanding of IL degradation products, which may eventually help us predict potential environmental threats and predict recyclability of ILs align with the First and Third Green Chemistry Principles (waste prevention and less hazardous chemical synthesis). Should ILs be designed based on this information to degrade into non-toxic products, it would be in line with the Tenth Green Chemistry Principle (design for degradation); this is thus not a direct impact of our research interests, but a potential long term broader impact of the information gained from it. The specific project I am working on now involves the evaluation of DART-MS as a potential method to rapidly screen targeted cations from dilute solutions. Low volume, direct analyses such as this lower organic solvent usage and thus also align with principles of Green Chemistry. Future efforts will evaluate other mass spectrometric paths forward.