Ionic liquids (ILs) are widely discussed as alternative, sustainable solvents not only because of their unique chemical properties, but also because of their extremely low vapor pressure and - at least in some cases - relatively high thermal stability. In this work the vapor pressure data and kinetics of decomposition are presented for some selected pure and supported ionic liquids. Based on these results general strategies to determine the volatility and stability of pure and supported ILs as well as criteria for the maximum operation temperature with regard to decomposition and evaporation are introduced.