Influence of ionic liquids on the surface properties of poplar veneers

In this paper, the influence of four types of imidazolium-based ionic liquids (ILs) on the surface properties of common aspen (Populus tremula) veneers has been studied by using contact angle, electrical conductivity and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis. The measurements showed that wood wettabillity is increased by IL treatment. The electrical conductivities of treated wood were in the 0.5-1 mS/cm range, higher than the ones reported in the reference literature. It has been determined that the ILs decrease the crystallinity and improve the flexibility of the cellulose matrix. It has been determined by photographic image analysis that the surface roughness of the IL treated veneers decreases in comparison with the untreated samples.     

Aggregates in mixtures of ionic liquids

Surfactant-like ionic liquids (C₁₆MIMCl, C₁₆MIMBF₄) aggregate in mixtures with another ionic liquid (EAN). Critical aggregate concentrations and estimations of object sizes are given and compared to aqueous systems and other relevant literature data. The investigated mixtures are stable up to more than 200 °C and can probably be used to extend the limited temperature range of water-based colloids.     

Temperature effect on the molecular interactions between two ammonium ionic liquids and dimethylsulfoxide

To understand the molecular interactions between newly synthesized ammonium ionic liquids (ILs) and highly polar solvent dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), precise measurements such as densities (ρ), ultrasonic sound velocities (u) and viscosities (η) have been performed over the whole composition range at temperature ranging from 298.15 to 308.15 K and at atmospheric pressure. The ILs investigated in the present study included diethyl ammonium acetate ([Et₂NH][CH₃COO], DEAA) and triethyl ammonium acetate ([Et₃NH][CH₃COO], TEAA). Further, to gain some insight into the nature of molecular interactions in these mixed solvents, we predicted the excess molar volume (V^E), the deviation in isentropic compressibilities (ΔK_s) and deviation in viscosity (Δη) as a function of the concentration of IL using the measured properties of ρ, u and η, respectively. Redlich-Kister polynomial was used to correlate the results. The intermolecular interactions and structural effects were analyzed on the basis of the measured and the derived properties. A qualitative analysis of the results is discussed in terms of the ion-dipole, ion-pair interactions, and hydrogen bonding between ILs and DMSO molecules and their structural factors.     

Image analysis of atmospheric corrosion of field exposure high strength aluminium alloys

The corrosion morphology image acquisition system which can be used in the field was established. In Beijing atmospheric corrosion exposure station, the image acquisition system was used to capture the early stage corrosion morphology of five types of high strength aluminium alloy specimens. After the denoise treatment, wavelet-based image analysis method was applied to decompose the improved images and energies of sub-images were extracted as character information. Based on the variation of image energy values, the corrosion degree of aluminium alloy specimens was qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed. The conclusion was basically identical with the result based on the corrosion weight loss. This method is supposed to be effective to analysis and quantify the corrosion damage from image of field exposure aluminium alloy specimens.     

Mesophilic alcohol dehydrogenase behavior in imidazolium based ionic liquids

The use of ionic liquids to replace organic solvents in biocatalytic processes has recently gained much attention. Despite the wide applications of oxidoreductases, there are few reports of their catalyzed reaction in ionic liquid. We have investigated the influence of four water miscible ionic liquids on the activity, stability and structure of the mesophilic alcohol dehydrogenase from yeast. Upon changes in ionic liquids concentration, both activity and stability of the enzyme were affected. As the concentration of ionic liquids increased, K_m increased while k_cat decreased. Associated conformational changes caused by ILs (150 mM) were monitored using fluorescence technique. Finally, the effects of ILs cations and anions on the enzyme activity and stability in aqueous IL mixtures were discussed.     

Prediction carbon dioxide solubility in ionic liquids based on deep learning

Ionic liquids have a great potential in capture and separation of carbon dioxide (CO₂), and the solubility of CO₂ in ionic liquids is one of key data for engineering applications. In this paper, the critical properties of ionic liquids are combined with deep learning models (CP-DNN, CP-CNN, CP-RNN) to establish theoretical prediction models of CO₂ solubility in ionic liquids. The predictive performance of these framworks is able to meet or exceed the predicted effects of the method based on thermodynamic models (PR,SRK) and machine learning method (XGBoost). For CP-RNN, the coefficient of determination (R²) between experimental and predicted values is 0.988, CP-CNN is 0.999, and CP-DNN is 0.984. This research can avoid complex computational characterisation, it is to provide a theoretical method to further enrich and improve the data information analysis of the solubility of CO₂ in ionic liquids.     

Potentialities of ionic liquids as new electrolyte media in advanced electrochemical devices

This paper reviews the various classes of ionic liquids (ILs) in view of their established and expected applications in advanced electrochemical devices, such as lithium batteries, fuel cells, and supercapacitors. In this respect, particular attention is devoted to aprotic and protic ILs, with a related discussion in terms of their thermal and transport properties. In addition, the role in the electrochemical technology of a new class of ILs having cation and anion tethered in an intramolecular form is stressed. Due to their emerging importance, IL-based polymers are finally reported and discussed. A conclusion, where the expected evolution of the ILs research and development is evaluated, is also included.     

The effect of ionic liquids on the conductivity of electrospun polyacrylonitrile membranes

Adding conductive additives to electrospinning solutions has been proven to increase the conductivity of electrospun membranes. The aim of this study was to learn the effect of ionic liquids (ILs) on the polyacrylonitrile membranes conductivity. Three different ionic liquids were used with concentration to 10 wt%. The conductivity of the membranes increases from picoS range without using IL to microS range with adding IL. At concentration 8 wt% ILs the percolation threshold was observed with maximum conductivity of the electrospun membranes. The maximum conductivity was measured to be 2.39 μS/cm.     

Corrosion protection of Mg/Al alloys by thermal sprayed aluminium coatings

The protective features of thermal sprayed Al-coatings applied on AZ31, AZ80 and AZ91D magnesium/aluminium alloys were evaluated in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution by electrochemical and gravimetric measurements. The changes in the morphology and corrosion behaviour of the Al-coatings induced by a cold-pressing post-treatment were also examined. The specimens were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis and low-angle X-ray diffraction. The as-sprayed Al-coatings revealed a high degree of porosity and poor corrosion protection, which resulted in galvanic acceleration of the corrosion of the magnesium substrates. The application of a cold-pressing post-treatment produced more compact Al-coatings with better bonding at the substrate/coating interface and higher corrosion resistance regardless of the nature of the magnesium alloy.     

An efficient enzymatic modification of cordycepin in ionic liquids under ultrasonic irradiation

A comparative study of the immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B (Novozym 435)-catalyzed acylation of cordycepin with vinyl acetate in ionic liquids (ILs) under ultrasonic irradiation and shaking was conducted. The application of ultrasonic irradiation instead of shaking during acylation resulted in an enhanced reaction rate and a higher level of substrate conversion. Among the various ILs examined, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluorobrate ([C₄MIm][BF₄]) was the best medium for the reaction because it produced the highest substrate conversion. In [C₄MIm][BF₄], the optimal ultrasonic power, water activity, and reaction temperature were 120 W, 0.33, and 50 °C, respectively. The acylation of cordycepin in [C₄MIm][BF₄] proved to be regioselective under both conditions: the C5′-OH was acylated. Novozym 435 exhibited a much higher operational stability in [C₄MIm][BF₄], and 58.0% of its original activity was maintained after ten reuse cycles under ultrasonic irradiation. Compared with the cordycepin, the rate of adenosine deaminase-catalyzed deamination was greatly reduced when the 5′-OH was substituted by acetyl group. These results demonstrated that the combined application of ultrasonic irradiation and IL as a medium was an efficient approach for the enzymatic modification of cordycepin.     

Tribological properties of Ti-doped DLC coatings under ionic liquids lubricated conditions

In this paper, titanium doped diamond-like carbon (Ti-DLC) coatings were prepared onto AISI 52100 steel substrates using medium frequency magnetic sputtering process, and were analyzed using the Raman and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Two kinds of 1,3-dialkyl imidazolium ionic liquids (ILs) were synthesized and evaluated as lubricants for Ti-DLC/steel contacts at room temperature, and PFPE as comparison lubricant. The tribological properties of the ILs were investigated using a ball-on-disk type UMT reciprocating friction tester. The results indicated that the ILs have excellent friction-reducing properties, the friction coefficient kept at a relatively stable value of 0.07-0.06, which was reduced approximately by 47% compared with perfluoropolyether (PFPE). The worn surfaces of Ti-DLC coatings were observed and analyzed using a MICROXAM-3D non-contact surface profiler, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The Ti-DLC coatings using ionic liquids lubricating systems are considered as potential lubricating system in vacuum and space moving friction pairs.     

Laser welding of aluminium alloys 5083 and 6082 under conduction regime

In this work, samples of aluminium alloys 5083-T0 and 6082-T6 have been welded under conduction regime, using a high power diode laser. The influence of experimental variables, as the laser power and the linear welding rate, on the sizes and properties of the butt weld beads has been studied. In addition to measure the depths and widths of the weld beads, their microstructure, microhardness profile and corrosion resistance have been analysed. The results obtained allow one to define the experimental conditions leading to good quality butt welds with higher penetration than those published in the recent literature under conduction regime. Maximum penetration values of 3 and 2.3 mm were obtained for 5083 and 6082, respectively. Additionally, a simple mathematical expression relating the weld depth (d) with the laser power (P) and the processing rate (v) has been proposed: d=(P−bb^′)/(av)−(ba^′)/a, being a, a′, b and b′ constant values for each alloy and under the employed experimental conditions. The values of these coefficients have been estimated from the fitting to the experimental depth values of 5083 and 6082 butt welds generated under conduction regime.     

The physical properties of aqueous solution of room-temperature ionic liquids based on imidazolium: Database and evaluation

We report the systematic studies of the physical properties of systems involving imidazolium based ionic liquids and water. The measurements of density ρ, refractive index Δ_n, viscosity η, specific conductance κ and surface tension γ were made over the whole concentration range. The equivalent conductivity Λ_m was calculated. The physical properti`es of the solutions changed with the change of association between ionic liquid and water. The physical properties of the solutions also vary with the alkyl length on the cation and polarity of anion.     

Thermodynamic properties of some ionic liquids using a simple equation of state

In this work, we have used a simple equation of state (EoS) to predict the density and other thermodynamic properties such as isobaric expansion coefficient, α_P , isothermal compressibility, κ_T, and internal pressure, P_i, for nine ionic liquids including trihexyl (tetradecyl) phosphonium chloride ([(C₆H₁₃)₃P(C₁₄H₂₉)][Cl]), trihexyl (tetradecyl) phosphonium acetate ([(C₆H₁₃)₃P(C₁₄H₂₉)][Ac]), trihexyl (tetradecyl) phosphonium bis {(trifluoromethyl) sulfonyl} amide ([(C₆H₁₃)₃P(C₁₄H₂₉)][NTf₂]), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis {(trifluoromethyl) sulfonyl} amide ([bmim][NTf₂]), 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bis {(trifluoromethyl) sulfonyl} amide ([hmim][NTf₂]), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([bmim][BF₄]), 1-butyl-3-octylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([omim][BF₄]), 1-butyl-3-octylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([omim][PF₆]), and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF₆]) at different temperatures and pressures. A wide comparison with experimental and literature data has been made. The results show that this EoS can be used to reproduce and predict different thermodynamic properties of ionic liquids within experimental errors.     

新型BrФnsted酸性离子液体的合成与表征

制备了五种对水稳定性好、带-SO3H官能团的磺酸类BrФnsted酸离子液体,用核磁共振(NMR)、红外光谱(IR)、电喷雾质谱(ESI-MS)、热重分析(TG)等表征手段对制备的离子液体进行了表征。结果表明,制备的离子液体与预期设计的结构一致,离子液体纯度大于95%;热重分析发现离子液体具有高的热稳定性和较宽的液态范围,其分解温度均高于300℃;五种离子液体均存在四种离子存在形式,H 可以单独以离子形式存在,并不是通常所认为的仅有两种离子存在形式。另外,研究了离子液体在常用溶剂中的溶解性,发现制备的离子液体易溶于水、甲醇,不溶于乙醚、甲苯和乙酸乙酯。     

Study of tribochemical decomposition of ionic liquids on a nascent steel surface

Tribological properties and the decomposition process of ionic liquids (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide and 1-dodecyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide) on a nascent surface of bearing steel 52100 were investigated by a ball-on-disk friction tester in a vacuum chamber equipped with a quadrupole mass spectrometer (Q-MS). Ionic liquids exhibited better tribological properties than synthetic hydrocarbon oil (multialkylated cyclopentane (MAC)) in high vacuum conditions. The induction period for decomposition of MAC was about 10 km, while no obvious gaseous products were observed for ionic liquids even after a sliding distance of 22 km under the same mechanical conditions. The mass spectra indicated that both the anionic and cationic moieties of ionic liquids decomposed on the nascent steel surface during friction processes. The cationic moiety with a longer alkyl chain was more difficult to decompose on the nascent steel surface than that with a shorter alkyl chain. XPS analysis revealed that the tribofilm formed by ionic liquid was mainly composed of FeF₂ and FeS, which deactivated the nascent surface. As a result, desorption rate of gaseous products decreased appreciably comparing with MAC. The critical load for the mechanical activation of the decomposition correspondingly increased from 1.1 N of MAC to 8 N of ionic liquids.     

Electrochemical and theoretical investigation on the corrosion of aluminium in acidic solution containing some Schiff bases

The effect of newly synthesised three Schiff bases—2-[2-aza-2-(5-methyl(2-pyridly))vinyl]phenol, 2-[2-aza-2-(5-methyl(2-pyridly))vinyl]-4-bromophenol, 2-[2-aza-2-(5-methyl(2-pyridly))vinyl]-4-chlorophenol—on the corrosion behaviour of aluminium in 0.1 M HCl were investigated using potentiodynamic polarisation, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and linear polarisation methods. Polarisation curves indicate that all studied Schiff bases were acting as mixed type inhibitors. All measurements show that inhibition efficiencies increase with increase in inhibitor concentration. This reveals that inhibitive actions of inhibitors were mainly due to adsorption on aluminium surface. Adsorption of these inhibitors follows Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Thermodynamic parameters of adsorption (K_ads, ΔG_ads) of studied Schiff bases were calculated using Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The variation in inhibition efficiency values depends on the type of functional groups substituted on benzene ring. It was found that the presence of bromine and chlorine atoms in the molecular structure of studied Schiff bases facilitate the adsorption of molecule on aluminium surface.The correlation between the inhibition efficiencies of studied Schiff bases and their molecular structure has been investigated using quantum chemical parameters obtained by MNDO semi-empirical SCF-MO methods. These results indicate that adsorption of studied Schiff bases depends on the charge density of adsorption centres and dipole moments.     

Synthesis of aryl azides: a probe reaction to study the synergetic action of ultrasounds and ionic liquids

The combined effect of ultrasounds and ionic liquids was used to perform the synthesis of aryl azides by nucleophilic aromatic substitution in ionic liquid/[1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium][N₃] binary mixtures. The ultrasounds efficiency was analyzed as a function of the substrate and of the ionic liquid structure. In the first case, both 6π and 10π electrons aryl halides were considered. As far as the ionic liquid structure is concerned, both aromatic and aliphatic ionic liquids were taken into account. Among aromatic cations, the effects due to different ability in giving hydrogen bond or π-π interactions were considered. The use of a geminal ionic liquid having an aromatic spacer was examined too.On the whole, collected data evidence an activating effect on the target reaction by the combined use of ultrasounds and ionic liquids. The structural order degree of the ionic liquid seems to be the main factor affecting the ultrasounds efficiency. Furthermore, the effects due to changes in the anion structure seem to be more significant than those due to changes in the cation structure.