Tetrakis(pentafluoroethyl)gallate, [Ga(C2F5)4]−, Ionic Liquids

We synthesized new imidazolium-based tunable aryl alkyl ionic liquids (TAAILs) with the weakly coordinating tetrakis(pentafluoroethyl)gallate anion, [Ga(C₂F₅)₄]⁻. Phenyl and phenyl derivatives (2-Me, 4-OMe, 2,4-F) were combined with varying alkyl chain lengths at the imidazolium core leading to TAAILs, which were investigated with regard to their viscosity, conductivity, and electrochemical window and compared to EMIM and BMIM standard cations. Remarkable low viscosities of 29 cP at 25 °C for [BMIM][Ga(C₂F₅)₄] were achieved. However, the EMIM and BMIM gallates show electrochemical instability, releasing pentafluoroethane at a voltage of 1.5 V. The 2-Me-substituted gallate-TAAILs slowly decompose over several weeks, whereas all other gallate-TAAILs showed no decomposition at all. With electrochemical windows of up to 5.15 V and low viscosities in a range of 66–162 cP, the gallate-TAAILs are promising candidates as electrolytes in electrochemical applications.     

Synthesis and Properties of Alkoxy‐ and Alkenyl‐Substituted Peralkylated Imidazolium Ionic Liquids

Novel peralkylated imidazolium ionic liquids bearing alkoxy and/or alkenyl side chains have been synthesized and studied. Different synthetic routes towards the imidazoles and the ionic liquids comprising bromide, iodide, methanesulfonate, bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([NTf₂]^?), and dicyanamide {[N(CN)₂]^?} as the anion were evaluated, and this led to a library of analogues, for which the melting points, viscosities, and electrochemical windows were determined. Incorporation of alkenyl moieties hindered solidification, except for cations with high symmetry. The alkoxy‐derivatized ionic liquids are often crystalline; however, room‐temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) were obtained with the weakly coordinating anions [NTf₂]^? and [N(CN)₂]^?. For the viscosities of the peralkylated RTILs, an opposite trend was found, that is, the alkoxy derivatives are less viscous than their alkenyl‐substituted analogues. Of the crystalline compounds, X‐ray diffraction data were recorded and related to their molecular properties. Upon alkoxy substitution, the electrochemical cathodic limit potential was found to be more positive, whereas the complete electrochemical window of the alkenyl‐substituted imidazolium salts was shifted to somewhat more positive potentials.     

Synthesis and Physical Properties of Tunable Aryl Alkyl Ionic Liquids (TAAILs)

Tunable aryl alkyl ionic liquids (TAAILs) based on the imidazolium cation were first reported in 2009. Since then, a series of TAAILs with different properties due to the electron-donating or -withdrawing effect of the substituents at the aryl ring has been developed. Herein, a wide variety of those ionic liquids (ILs) is presented in terms of their cation structure. The authors synthesized ILs containing the bromide or bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide anion and 1-aryl-3-alkyl imidazolium cations with various substituents in the ortho and/ or para position of the phenyl ring and alkyl chains of different lengths varying from butyl to dodecyl. The differences of their physical properties (melting point, thermal decomposition, viscosity, electro-chemical window) of these ILs are reported according to their structure.     

Sum frequency generation spectroscopy of dicyanamide based room-temperature ionic liquids. Orientation of the cation and the anion at the gas-liquid interface

The orientation of the cation and the anion of room-temperature ionic liquids using sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy is reported. The ionic liquids are based on butyl-methyl imidazolium [BMIM]+ and hexyl-tributyl ammonium [N6444]+ together with dicyanamide [DCA]- as the anion. The tilt angle of the C3 axis of the methyl group from the alkyl chain in the cations was found to vary from 52 degrees to 80 degrees as a function of the distribution width sigma (which ranges from 0 degrees to 30 degrees with respect to the surface normal) for [BMIM][DCA] and similarly for [N6444][DCA]. The orientation of the C2 axis in the dicyanamide anion as a function of the twist angle phi, varied between 46 degrees and 90 degrees for [BMIM][DCA] and from 53 degrees to 90 degrees for [N6444][DCA]. These results suggest the presence of both ionic species at the gas-liquid interface and help describe the behavior of a simple inorganic anion at the surface.     

Tailored Palladate Tunable Aryl Alkyl Ionic Liquids (TAAILs)

We present a new class of tunable aryl alkyl ionic liquids (TAAILs) containing different palladate counter ions. Solid-state structures for representative compounds have been obtained. Their properties are presented in comparison to those of newly synthesized and reported palladate ionic liquids with conventional counter ions. It was found that the aryl substitution pattern and the type of anion have a profound influence on the melting point. The speciation of the different anions in solution has been rationalized by DFT calculations.     

Electronic Effects of para‐Substitution on the Melting Points of TAAILs

Owing to numerous new applications, the interest in “task‐specific” ionic liquids increased significantly over the last decade. But, unfortunately, the imidazolium‐based ionic liquids (by far the most frequently used cations) have serious limitations when it comes to modifications of their properties. The new generation of ionic liquids, called tunable aryl–alkyl ionic liquids (TAAILs), replaces one of the two alkyl chains on the imidazolium ring with an aryl ring which allows a large degree of functionalization. Inductive, mesomeric, and steric effects as well as potentially also π π and π π⁺ interactions provide a wide range of possibilities to tune this new class of ILs. We investigated the influence of electron‐withdrawing and ‐donating substituents at the para‐position of the aryl ring (NO₂, Cl, Br, EtO(CO), H, Me, OEt, OMe) by studying the changes in the melting points of the corresponding bromide and bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, (N(Tf)₂⁻), salts. In addition, we calculated (B3LYP/6‐311++G(d,p)) the different charge distributions of substituted 1‐aryl‐3‐propyl‐imidazolium cations to understand the experimentally observed effects. The results indicated that the presence of electron‐donating and ‐withdrawing groups leads to strong polarization effects in the cations.     

Recombination of Lophyl Radicals in Pyrrolidinium‐Based Ionic Liquids

The recombination of photolytically generated lophyl radicals has been investigated by UV/Vis spectroscopy in 1‐alkyl‐1‐methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imides (NTf₂) in comparison with 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium NTf₂, dimethyl sulfoxide, and triacetin. The 1‐alkyl‐1‐methylpyrrolidinium‐based ionic liquids contain an alkyl substituent varying between butyl and decyl groups. Optically pure ionic liquids are used in these studies. Temperature‐dependent investigation of lophyl radical recombination shows an increase in the radical recombination rate with increasing temperature in each solvent, which is caused by decreasing viscosity with increasing temperature. Furthermore, the viscosity of the 1‐alkyl‐1‐methylpyrrolidinium NTf₂ increases nearly linearly within the row of these ionic liquids. In contrast, the recombination of the photolytically generated lophyl radicals is significantly faster in the ionic liquids than in the traditional organic solvents under investigation. Moreover, the recombination rate increases with the length of the alkyl chain bound at the cation of the ionic liquid at a given temperature. This may be caused by an increase in the extent of lophyl radical recombination within the solvent cage. Solvent cage effects dominate in the case of lophyl radical recombination in ionic liquids bearing a long alkyl chain or if the temperature is near the melting temperature of the ionic liquid. The positive value of the activation entropy supports this hypothesis. The results obtained are important for discussion of bimolecular radical reactions in ionic liquids.     

Novel Cyclic Sulfonium‐Based Ionic Liquids: Synthesis,Characterization, and Physicochemical Properties

A new series of ionic liquids composed of three cyclic sulfonium cations and four anions has been synthesized and characterized. Their physicochemical properties, including their spectroscopic characteristics, ion cluster behavior, surface properties, phase transitions, thermal stability, density, viscosity, refractive index, tribological properties, ion conductivity, and electrochemical window have been comprehensively studied. Eight of these salts are liquids at room temperature, at which some salts based on [NO₃]^? and [NTf₂]^? ions exhibit organic plastic crystal behaviors, and all the saccharin‐based salts display relatively high refractive indices (1.442–1.594). In addition, some ionic liquids with the [NTf₂]^? ion exhibit peculiar spectroscopic characteristics in FTIR and UV/Vis regions, whilst those salts based on the [DCA]^? ion show lower viscosities (34.2–62.6 mPa s at 20 °C) and much higher conductivities (7.6–17.6 mS cm^?1 at 20 °C) than most traditional 1,3‐dialkylimidazolium salts.     

Extraction of Metal Ions from Aqueous Solutions Using Imidazolium Based Ionic Liquids

This article represents a step towards how to choose an ionic liquid as the solvent to improve metal ion (Ag⁺ and Pb²⁺) extraction. The liquid-liquid solvent extraction is proposed with the following imidazolium ionic liquids (ILs): 1-ethyl-3-ethylimidazolium, or 1-butyl-3-ethylimidazolium, or 1-hexyl-3-ethylimidazolium bis{(trifluoromethyl)sylfonyl}imide [EEIM][NTf₂], or [BEIM][NTf₂], or [HEIM][NTf₂], or 1-butyl-3-ethylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate [BEIM][PF₆], or 1-hexyl-3-ethylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate [HEIM][PF₆] and the popular 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate [BMIM][PF₆] for comparison. The effect of anion type (NTf₂⁻ versus PF₆⁻) and the effect of structural components of an ionic liquid including alkyl chain length at the cation and the ethyl substituent instead methyl at the cation, on the extraction and re-extraction processes by using dithizone as a metal chelator, were studied at 296 K. Dithizone was employed to form neutral metal-dithizone complexes with heavy metal ions to extract them from aqueous solution into the ILs. Electronic Supplementary Material  The online version of this article () contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Presented at the 236th ACS National Meeting, August 17–21, Philadelphia, USA.     

Synthesis of Oxygen‐Containing Spirobipyrrolidinium Salts for High Conductivity Room Temperature Ionic Liquids

Synthesis of ionic liquids (IL) based on oxygen‐containing spirobipyrrolidinium salts with BF₄, BF₃C₂F₅, and NTf₂ as counterions was undertaken. Their physical and electrochemical properties were evaluated for suitability for Room Temperature Ionic Liquids (RTIL) application. Reduction in melting point occurred upon exchange of C(2) by an O‐atom of spirobipyrrolidinium, without sacrificing the electrochemical stability; while introduction of alkyl groups between the N‐ and O‐atoms led to incorporation of asymmetry, and hence reduced the melting points, and viscosity.     

Solutions of ionic liquids with diverse aliphatic and aromatic solutes – Phase behavior and potentials for applications: A review article

This article principally reviews our research related to liquid–liquid and solid–liquid phase behavior of imidazolium- and phosphonium-based ionic liquids, mainly having bistriflamide ([NTf₂]⁻) or triflate ([OTf]⁻) anions, with several aliphatic and aromatic solutes (target molecules). The latter include: (i) diols and triols: 1,2-propanediol, 1,3-propanediol and glycerol; (ii) polymer poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG): average molecular mass 200, 400 and 2050 – PEG200 (liquid), PEG400 (liquid) and PEG2050 (solid), respectively; (iii) polar aromatic compounds: nicotine, aniline, phenolic acids (vanillic, ferulic and caffeic acid,), thymol and caffeine and (iv) non-polar aromatic compounds (benzene, toluene, p-xylene). In these studies, the effects of the cation and anion, cation alkyl chain and PEG chain lengths on the observed phase behaviors were scrutinized. Thus, one of the major observations is that the anion – bistriflamide/triflate – selection usually had strong, sometimes really remarkable effects on the solvent abilities of the studied ionic liquids. Namely, in the case of the hydrogen-bonding solutes, the ionic liquids with the triflate anion generally exhibited substantially higher solubility than those having the bistriflamide anion. Nevertheless, with the aromatic compounds the situation was the opposite – in most of the cases it was the bistriflamide anion that favoured solubility. Moreover, our other studies confirmed the ability of PEG to dissolve both polar and non-polar aromatic compounds. Therefore, two general possibilities of application of alternative, environmentally acceptable, solvents of tuneable solvent properties appeared. One is to use homogeneous mixtures of two ionic liquids having [NTf₂]⁻ and [OTf]⁻ anions as mixed solvents. The other, however, envisages the application of homogeneous and heterogeneous (PEG + ionic liquid) solutions as tuneable solvents for aromatic solutes.Such mixed solvents have potential applications in separation of the aforesaid target molecules from their aqueous solutions or in extraction from original matrices. From the fundamental point of view the phase equilibrium studies reviewed herein and the diversity of the pure compounds – ionic liquids and target molecules – represent a good base for the discussion of interactions between the molecules that exist in the studied solutions.     

Synthesis and Thermophysical Properties of Ether‐Functionalized Sulfonium Ionic Liquids as Potential Electrolytes for Electrochemical Applications

During this work, a novel series of hydrophobic room temperature ionic liquids (ILs) based on five ether functionalized sulfonium cations bearing the bis{(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl}imide, [NTf₂]^? anion were synthesized and characterized. Their physicochemical properties, such as density, viscosity and ionic conductivity, electrochemical window, along with thermal properties including phase transition behavior and decomposition temperature, have been measured. All of these ILs showed large liquid range temperature, low viscosity, and good conductivity. Additionally, by combining DFT calculations along with electrochemical characterization it appears that these novel ILs show good electrochemical stability windows, suitable for the potential application as electrolyte materials in electrochemical energy storage devices.     

Synthesis and Characterisation of Fluorescent Carbon Nanodots Produced in Ionic Liquids by Laser Ablation

Carbon nanodots (C‐dots) with an average size of 1.5 and 3.0 nm were produced by laser ablation in different imidazolium ionic liquids (ILs), namely, 1‐n‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BMI.BF₄), 1‐n‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (BMI.NTf₂) and 1‐n‐octyl‐3‐methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (OMI.NTf₂). The mean size of the nanoparticles is influenced by the imidazolium alkyl side chain but not by the nature of the anion. However, by varying the anion (BF₄ vs. NTf₂) it was possible to detect a significant modification of the fluorescence properties. The C‐dots are much probably stabilised by an electrostatic layer of the IL and this interaction has played an important role with regard to the formation, stabilisation and photoluminescence properties of the nanodots. A tuneable broadband fluorescence emission from the colloidal suspension was observed under ultraviolet/visible excitation with fluorescence lifetimes fitted by a multi‐exponential decay with average values around 7 ns.     

Bicyclic imidazolium-based ionic liquids: synthesis and characterization

We previously reported the use of imidazole as starting compound for preparing a bicyclic imidazolium ionic liquid, [b-3C-im][NTf₂], with an overall 29% isolated yield in four synthetic steps. This new room temperature ionic liquid was shown to be far more chemically stable than commonly used [bmim][PF₆], [bdmim][PF₆], and [bdmim][NTf₂]. Because of this intriguing chemical stability, it prompted us to develop a more generalized and high yielding synthesis so that molecular diversity of bicyclic ionic liquids may be explored. In this work, we amended the previous synthetic route by employing 4-chlorobutyronitrile or 5-chlorovaleronitrile as starting materials and successfully developed a five-step synthesis of a series of novel bicyclic imidazolium-based ionic liquids in 40-53% overall isolated yields. We investigated intrinsic reactivity of all bicyclic ionic liquids prepared and found that, under strongly basic conditions, among all tested ionic liquids the 5,5-membered [R-3C-im][NTf₂] ionic liquids were most stable to solvent deuterium isotope exchange while the previously reported [bdmim][NTf₂] ionic liquid was 50% deuterium exchanged at its C-2 methyl in 30 min at ambient temperature. Under identical condition, the commonly used [bmim][NTf₂] ionic liquid was deuterium exchanged instantaneously at its C-2 hydrogen. In the absence of bases, only [bmim][PF₆] was deuterium exchanged (50% within 1 h) and all other ionic liquids gave no detectable exchanges even after 25 days at ambient temperature. Moreover, both [bmim][NTf₂] and [bdmim][NTf₂] ionic liquids were readily methylated at C-2 position with methyl iodide under basic condition at room temperature. Under the same condition, [R-3C-im][NTf₂] and [R-4C-im][NTf₂] ionic liquids were completely stable and chemically inert. We envisioned that [R-3C-im][NTf₂] should be well suited as solvents for organic synthesis.     

Reduction of Carbon Dioxide to Formate at Low Overpotential Using a Superbase Ionic Liquid

A new low‐energy pathway is reported for the electrochemical reduction of CO₂ to formate and syngas at low overpotentials, utilizing a reactive ionic liquid as the solvent. The superbasic tetraalkyl phosphonium ionic liquid [P₆₆₆₁₄][124Triz] is able to chemisorb CO₂ through equimolar binding of CO₂ with the 1,2,4‐triazole anion. This chemisorbed CO₂ can be reduced at silver electrodes at overpotentials as low as 0.17 V, forming formate. In contrast, physically absorbed CO₂ within the same ionic liquid or in ionic liquids where chemisorption is impossible (such as [P₆₆₆₁₄][NTf₂]) undergoes reduction at significantly increased overpotentials, producing only CO as the product.     

γ辐照引发[Cnmim][NTf2]离子液体变色研究

1-烷基-3-甲基咪唑双三氟甲基磺酰胺型离子液体(C_nmim][NTf₂])被认为是最有希望用于核燃料循环中的分离试剂之一, 虽然其化学结构在辐照过程中变化不大, 但在受到γ辐照后会发生明显的变色, 因此有必要研究该类离子液体的变色原因. 本文以⁶⁰Co为辐照源, 系统研究了辐照后不同C(1)－烷基链长和咪唑环上C(2)位上的H被甲基取代后离子液体的紫外-可见(UV-Vis)吸收光谱行为, 并结合辐照后离子液体荧光光谱和质谱的变化, 分析了导致该类离子液体辐照后颜色加深的原因. 结果表明, 随着咪唑环上C(1)―烷基链长度和剂量增大, 离子液体颜色加深; 而C(2)位上的H被甲基取代后颜色明显变浅. 辐照后咪唑型离子液体的变色主要来自于辐照后产生的烷基侧链含双键的咪唑阳离子, 咪唑阳离子二聚体和含氟咪唑化合物. 此外, γ辐照引起咪唑阳离子易发生π-π堆积, 而聚集态含量增加也会引起颜色加深.     

Electrodeposition of Al,Zn, and Pt on silver-coated textile fibres from ionic liquids

In the present paper, we report on the electrodeposition of aluminium, zinc and platinum on silver-coated textile fibres from ionic liquids. For electrodeposition of Al, the 60:40 mol% mixture of AlCl₃/1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([EMIm]Cl) and 1.7 M AlCl₃ in 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide ([Py_1,4]TFSA) were employed. It was observed that microcrystalline aluminium was electrodeposited on the textile fibres in 60:40 mol% AlCl₃/[EMIm]Cl. The deposited Al layers either on single fibres or on textile assemblies are well adherent and uniform. An adherent, homogeneous and nanocrystalline Al layer was obtained on the silver-coated textile samples from 1.7 M AlCl₃/[Py_1,4]TFSA at 75 °C. The obtained Al layers from 60:40 mol% AlCl₃/[EMIm]Cl on the textile fibres exhibit a good corrosion resistance in an aqueous iodide/iodine electrolyte. Furthermore, we obtain Al microtubes from the investigated ionic liquids after dissolving the textile fibres. In addition, zinc electrodeposition was carried out on the textile samples from 60:40 mol% ZnCl₂/[EMIm]Cl at 80 °C. The electrodeposition of platinum on the textiles was done from 50 mM PtCl₂ in 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium dicyanamide ([Py_1,4]DCA).     

The role of neutral anions in ionic liquid as solvent media for the reactivity and stereoselectivity towards asymmetric Michael addition reaction of n-pentanal with β-nitrostyrene catalyzed by L-Proline

Michael addition reactions of n-pentanal with ß-nitrostyrene in achiral and chiral ionic liquids catalyzed by l-proline were studied. Results indicate anion plays an important role as weak coordination properties in the reactivity and stereoselectivity towards Michael product. 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([Bmim][NTf₂]) ionic liquid was found to be the best solvent media with a high yield (up to 90%) and a high diastereomeric ratio (syn/anti: 91/9), with moderate enantioselectivity (38% ee) among ten ionic liquids tested. The ionic liquid has been reusable over five numbers of cycles.     

Synthesis,Characterization, Thermal Analyses,and Spectroscopic Properties of Novel Naphthyl-Functionalized Imidazolium Ionic Liquids

A series of novel ionic liquids based on naphthyl-functionalized imidazolium cation have been prepared. Their structure was characterized by NMR. The thermal stabilities of the prepared liquids were studied by thermal gravimetric analysis. The new ionic liquids containing NTf^-₂ anion display significantly higher thermal stabilities (>400°C). Anion exchange to PF^-₆, BF^-₄, and Br^– decreases the thermal stabilities of such ionic liquids. Fluorescence and UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy were used to study the spectroscopic properties of the ionic liquids. Compared with common ionic liquids, the described ionic liquids provide robust fluorescence properties and remarkably increased UV–Vis absorption. This research may enrich the field of functionalized ionic liquids and provide a platform for extension of ionic liquid applications.     

Co (II)‐C12 alkyl carbon chain multi‐functional ionic liquid immobilized on nano‐SiO2 nano‐SiO2@CoCl3‐C12IL as an efficient cooperative catalyst for C–H activation by direct acylation of aryl halides with aldehydes

Nano‐silica supported ionic liquids composed of alkyl carbon chain and transition metal chlorides anions have been prepared and successfully applied as a heterogeneous catalyst in the direct aldehyde C‐H activation. Catalytic results indicated that nano‐SiO₂ supported ionic liquid consisting C12 alkyl carbon chain and CoCl₃ anion nano‐SiO₂@CoCl₃‐C12IL showed excellent catalytic properties with good to excellent yields towards the desired aryl ketones. The excellent recyclability of the supported catalyst, mild reaction conditions, low catalyst loading, and operational simplicity are the important features of this methodology.