Water immiscible ionic liquids of the form 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, [bmim][Tf2N] and 1,1-N-methyl-N-propylpyrrolidium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, [mppryr][Tf2N] are being explored as a new generation of solvents to enable alkaline earth metal chemistry currently not possible due to solubility issues. We here present the syntheses of the solvents and their use in synthetic applications.