Utilization of cheap and natural resources is an important topic in green chemistry. A new class of betaine-based aprotic task-specific ionic liquids (ILs), including [C 4 bet][TFSI], [C 4 bet][DCA], [C 4 bet][SCN], [1O2bet][TFSI], [1O2bet][DCA], [2O2bet][TFSI], and [2O2bet][DCA], has been designed and prepared through a new ionic liquidization strategy from the renewable natural resource betaine. Their physicochemical characteristics, including spectral properties, density, viscosity, melting point, glass transition temperature, thermal stability, conductivity and electrochemical window, have been comprehensively studied. They were first applied as new absorbents for SO 2 capture, and [C 4 bet][SCN] exhibited the maximum absorption capacity of 0.93 mol SO 2 /mol ILs at 20 °C and 1 atm (SO 2 /N 2 = 10% vol.) with rapid absorption rates in 21 min. Moreover, the effect of temperature, pressure, and water content on the absorption performance of SO 2 was investigated. T...