Modelling room temperature ionic liquids

Room temperature ionic liquids (IL) composed of organic cations and inorganic anions are already being utilized for wide-ranging applications in chemistry. Complementary to experiments, computational modelling has provided reliable details into the nature of their interactions. The intra- and intermolecular structures, dynamic and transport behaviour and morphologies of these novel liquids have also been explored using simulations. The current status of molecular modelling studies is presented along with the prognosis for future work in this area.     

Spectroelectrochemical characterization of thin fullerene films in room temperature ionic liquids

Room-temperature ionic liquids were used as electrolytes for in situ studies of the transitions of solution cast fullerene films. 1-Butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BMIMBF₄), 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium hexafluorophosphate (BMIMPF₆) and 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BDiMIMBF₄) were used in this study and the techniques used are cyclic voltammetry and in situ attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. Infrared spectra were recorded during the reversible redox processes of the C₆₀ films showing a three-step one electron reduction and reoxidation reaction. After reoxidation some part of the C₆₀ film remained in its form. The IR bands obtained during electrochemical reduction of C₆₀ in ionic liquids were compared with the spectra reported for C₆₀ films upon reduction in the presence of different cations in organic solutions.     

Electrochemistry of room temperature protic ionic liquids

Eighteen protic ionic liquids containing different combinations of cations and anions, hydrophobicity, viscosity, and conductivity have been synthesized and their physicochemical properties determined. In one series, the diethanolammonium cations were combined with acetate, formate, hydrogen sulfate, chloride, sulfamate, and mesylate anions. In the second series, acetate and formate anions were combined with amine bases, triethylamine, diethylamine, triethanolamine, di-n-propylamine, and di-n-butylamine. The electrochemical characteristics of the eight protic ionic liquids that are liquid at room temperature (RTPILs) have been determined using cyclic, microelectrode, and rotating disk electrode voltammetries. Potential windows of the RTPILs have been compared at glassy carbon, platinum, gold, and boron-doped diamond electrodes and generally found to be the largest in the case of glassy carbon. The voltammetry of IUPAC recommended potential scale reference systems, ferrocene/ferrocenium and cobaltocenium/cobaltocene, have been evaluated and found to be ideal in the case of the less viscous RTPILs but involve adsorption in the highly viscous ones. Other properties such as diffusion coefficients, ionic conductivity, and double layer capacitance also have been measured. The influence of water on the potential windows, viscosity, and diffusion has been studied systematically by deliberate addition of water to the dried ionic liquids. The survey highlights the problems with voltammetric studies in highly viscous room temperature protic ionic liquids and also suggests the way forward with respect to their possible industrial use.     

Peptide synthesis in room temperature ionic liquids

We demonstrate that chemical peptide coupling using modern coupling agents is efficient in rt ionic liquids. This new approach presents some advantages, especially in the case of hindered amino acids, which are not easy to couple under standard conditions, since high purities for the crude peptides were observed with respect to coupling in classical solvents.     

Nanoscale segregation in room temperature ionic liquids

Room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) are organic salts that are characterized by low melting points. They are considered to possess a homogeneous microscopic structure. We provide the first experimental evidence of the existence of nanoscale heterogeneities in neat liquid and supercooled RTILs, such as 1-alkyl-3-methyl imidazolium-based salts, using X-ray diffraction. These heterogeneities are of the order of a few nanometers and their size is proportional to the alkyl chain length. These results provide strong support to the findings from recent molecular dynamics simulations, which proposed the occurrence of nanostructures in RTILs, as a consequence of alkyl chains segregation. Moreover, our study addresses the issue of the temperature dependence of the heterogeneities size, showing a behavior that resembles the density one only below the glass transition, thus suggesting a complex behavior above this temperature. These results will provide a novel interpretation approach for the unique chemical physical properties of RTILs.     

Manipulating solute nucleophilicity with room temperature ionic liquids

In this work we report the effect of ionic liquids on a class of charge-neutral nucleophiles. We have studied the reactions of (n)butylamine, di-(n)butylamine, and tri-(n)butylamine with methyl p-nitrobenzenesulfonate in [bmpy][N(Tf)(2)], [bmpy][OTf], and [bmim][OTf] (bmpy = 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium; bmim = 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium) and compared their reactivities, k(2), to those for the same reactions in the molecular solvents dichloromethane and acetonitrile. It was shown that all of the amines are more nucleophilic in the ionic liquids than in the molecular solvents studied in this work. Comparison is also made with the effect of ionic liquids on the reactivity of chloride ions, which are deactivated in ionic liquids. The Eyring activation parameters revealed that changes in the activation entropies are largely responsible for the effects seen. This can be explained in part by the differing hydrogen-bonding properties, as shown by the Kamlet-Taft solvent parameters, of each of these solvents and the formation of hydrogen bonds between the solvents and the nucleophiles.     

Heterogeneous solute dynamics in room temperature ionic liquids

The excitation wavelength dependence of the emission kinetics of several solutes is used to demonstrate the presence of dynamic heterogeneity in two representative room temperature ionic liquids, dimethyl-isopropyl-propyl-ammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [N(ip311)(+)][Tf(2)N(-)] and N-propyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [Pr(31)(+)][Tf(2)N(-)]. The solute kinetics examined here include rotation and solvation of coumarin 153, isomerization of two malononitriles, and intramolecular charge transfer in crystal violet lactone. The rates of most of these processes vary significantly with excitation wavelength, especially for excitation on the red edges of the solute absorption bands, indicating that energetically selected subpopulations relax at distinct rates. The results presented here suggest more generally that dynamical processes taking place on the subnanosecond time scale in typical ionic liquids near room temperature are likely to be heterogeneous in character.     

Orientational and translational dynamics in room temperature ionic liquids

The authors investigate the dynamics of a series of room temperature ionic liquids, based on the same 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium cation with different anions, by means of broadband (10(-6)-10(9) Hz) dielectric spectroscopy and depolarized light scattering in the temperature range from 400 K down to 35 K. Typical ionic conductivity is observed above the glass transition temperature Tg. Below Tg the authors detect relaxation processes that exhibit characteristics of secondary relaxations, as typically observed in molecular glasses. At high temperatures, the characteristic times of cation reorientation, deduced from the light scattering data, are approximately equal to the electric modulus relaxation times related to ionic conductivity. In the supercooled regime and close to Tg, the authors observe decoupling of conductivity from structural relaxation. Overall, room temperature ionic liquids exhibit typical glass transition dynamics, apparently unaltered by Coulomb interactions.     

室温离子液体催化正戊烷异构化反应

采用无水三氯化铝与多种有机氯盐按照不同摩尔比合成了具有不同酸度和阴、阳离子结构的室温离子液体,考察了离子液体的结构和反应条件对正戊烷异构化反应的影响。结果表明,合成离子液体过程中,AlCl3与Et3NHCl摩尔比对离子液体的酸强度和催化性能有较大的影响。实验确定了正丁醇为异构化反应适宜的引发剂,其用量为正戊烷的2.5%;正戊烷异构化的优化反应条件为反应温度30℃,反应10h,搅拌器转速1500r/min。在此优化反应条件下,正戊烷的转化率与异构化率分别达到85.66%和92.86%。     

Extraction of organic compounds with room temperature ionic liquids

Room temperature ionic liquids are novel solvents with a rather specific blend of physical and solution properties that makes them of interest for applications in separation science. They are good solvents for a wide range of compounds in which they behave as polar solvents. Their physical properties of note that distinguish them from conventional organic solvents are a negligible vapor pressure, high thermal stability, and relatively high viscosity. They can form biphasic systems with water or low polarity organic solvents and gases suitable for use in liquid–liquid and gas–liquid partition systems. An analysis of partition coefficients for varied compounds in these systems allows characterization of solvent selectivity using the solvation parameter model, which together with spectroscopic studies of solvent effects on probe substances, results in a detailed picture of solvent behavior. These studies indicate that the solution properties of ionic liquids are similar to those of polar organic solvents. Practical applications of ionic liquids in sample preparation include extractive distillation, aqueous biphasic systems, liquid–liquid extraction, liquid-phase microextraction, supported liquid membrane extraction, matrix solvents for headspace analysis, and micellar extraction. The specific advantages and limitations of ionic liquids in these studies is discussed with a view to defining future uses and the need not to neglect the identification of new room temperature ionic liquids with physical and solution properties tailored to the needs of specific sample preparation techniques. The defining feature of the special nature of ionic liquids is not their solution or physical properties viewed separately but their unique combinations when taken together compared with traditional organic solvents.     

Synthesis of multi-hydroxyl and sulfonyl dual-functionalized room temperature ionic liquids

Starting from the hydroxylamine (dimethyl amino ethanol, triethanolamine) and 1,3-propane sultone, a series of hydroxyl and sulfonyl dual-functionalized zwitterionic salts and corresponding acidic room temperature ionic liquids have been synthesized. The hydroxyl groups of the synthesized substances were confirmed by the 1H NMR measurement. These zwitterionic salts and ionic liquids may be used for synthesizing other functionalized ionic liquids or ionic liquid-polymer (polyelectrolyte).     

Mesoscopic structural organization in fluorinated room temperature ionic liquids

The presence of fluorous tails in room-temperature ionic liquids imparts new properties to their already rich spectrum of appealing features. The interest towards this class of compounds that are of ionic nature with melting point less than 25 °C is accordingly growing; in particular, compounds bearing relatively long fluorous tails have begun to be considered. In this invited presentation, we show recent results arising from the systematic study of structural properties of a series of fluorinated room temperature ionic liquids, with growing fluorous chain length. At odd with the current understanding of this class of compounds, we show experimentally that they are characterized by the presence of segregated fluorous domains whose size depends on the fluorous chain length. This experimental finding, based on the synergic use of X-ray and neutron scattering, provides a structural scenario at the mesoscopic spatial scale that is in agreement with the recent state of the art molecular dynamic simulations. We speculate on the potential role of this significant compartmentalization of the bulk liquid phase into different nanoscale domains, as relevant in a series of applications including separation, solubility, catalysis, and so forth.     

室温离子液体催化正己烷异构化反应的研究

由无水三氯化铝与盐酸三乙胺按照不同摩尔比合成了具有不同酸度的室温离子液体,并考察了其酸性以及对正己烷异构化反应的催化性能。结果发现,随着离子液体合成时AlCl3比例的增大,离子液体的酸性增强,且离子液体2AlCl3/Et3NHCl对正己烷异构化显示出优良的催化性能。针对离子液体2AlCl3/Et3NHCl,考察了反应时间、反应温度和催化剂用量（剂油体积比）对正己烷异构化反应的影响。结果表明,反应条件对异构烷烃选择性的影响不大,但是对原料转化率、异构烷烃产率和液体收率有较大的影响。离子液体催化正己烷异构化的最佳反应条件,反应温度为50℃,反应时间为45min,剂油体积比为1∶1。     

室温离子液体催化巯基乙酸异辛酯的合成

巯基乙酸异辛酯是一种广泛应用于精细化工、树脂和塑料制造的中间体,尤其在聚氯乙烯无毒制品中有着重要用途[1],其合成方法的改进也成为研究的主要课题之一。巯基乙酸异辛酯的合成通常采用硫酸催化法[2],由于浓硫酸污染环境、腐蚀设备,特别是近年来环保法规对环境和安全性不断提高的要求,用固体酸(分子筛、离子交换树脂、固体超强酸)等取代H2SO4、HF、A lC l3等强腐蚀性酸作为催化剂的催化工艺获得明显进展[3],但这些催化剂也有自身的缺点[4]。室温离子液体是近年来受到极大关注的一类新材料,它为人们探索环境友好的催化体系和溶剂提供了…     

Application of novel room temperature ionic liquids in flexible supercapacitors

This paper studied application of different types of room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) into flexible supercapacitors. Typical RTILs including 1-buthyl-3-methyl-imidazolium [BMIM][Cl], trioctylmethylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [OMA][TFSI] and triethylsulfonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([SET₃][TFSI]) were studied. [SET₃][TFSI] shows the best result as electrolyte in electrochemical double-layer (EDLC) supercapacitors with very high specific capacitance of 244 F/g at room temperature, overceiling the performance of conventional carbonate electrolyte such as dimethyl carbonate (DMC) with more stable performance and much larger electrochemical window.     

Determination of an acidic scale in room temperature ionic liquids

The acidity scale of different Br?nsted acids in ionic liquids such as [BMIM][NTf2], [BMIM][BF4], and [BMMIM][BF4] has been investigated by determination of Hammett functions, using a spectrophotometric indicator method. This scale should permit one to correlate the acidity strength of ionic liquid systems with their ability to achieve acid-catalyzed reactions.     

Preparation and characterization of amino or carboxyl-functionalized ionic liquids

New functionalized ionic liquids,1-carboxylmethyl-3-methylimimidazolium hexafluorophosphate or fluoborate and 1-ami- noethyl-3-methylimimidazolium hexafluorophosphate or fluoborate have been synthesized and investigated.The obtained amino or carboxyl-functionalized ionic liquids were all characterized by FT-IR,~1H NMR and MS(ESI)and their properties such as freezing point,viscosity,solubility,specific gravity,surface tension,and interracial tension were also determined.     

Excited-state proton-transfer dynamics of 7-hydroxyquinoline in room temperature ionic liquids

Excited-state proton transfer (ESPT) reaction of 7-hydroxyquinoline (7-HQ) mediated by methanol molecules has been studied in two room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) using steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence measurements. While no ESPT is observable in neat RTILs, characteristic tautomer fluorescence of 7-HQ could be observed in the presence of small quantity of methanol (0.5-4.1 M). The observation of a rise time (350 ps-1.4 ns) associated with the tautomer fluorescence suggests that proton transfer in 7-HQ is indeed an excited-state phenomenon that requires considerable solvent reorganization prior to the relay of proton from the hydroxyl group to the distant ring nitrogen atom through suitably organized dimeric chain of methanol molecules. The rise time of the tautomer fluorescence, which has been found to decrease with increasing methanol concentration, is attributed to the change of viscosity of the medium upon methanol addition. While the influence of viscosity on the ESPT kinetics is evident from the data, lack of any definite correlation between the bulk viscosity and the rise time has been interpreted in terms of the microheterogeneous nature of the media that does not allow assessment of the microviscosity around 7-HQ from the bulk viscosity.     

Catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation of aromatic ketones in room temperature ionic liquids

Polar bisphosphonic acid-derived Ru(BINAP)(DPEN)Cl₂ precatalysts were synthesized and immobilized in room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) for asymmetric hydrogenation of aromatic ketones with ee values of up to 98.7%. The performance of the Ru catalysts is highly dependent on the nature of imidazolium ILs. For the imidazolium ILs without acidic protons, both ILs and Ru catalysts were recycled by simple extraction and reused. Such a simple immobilization approach also prevented the leaching of Ru (and Ru catalysts) into the chiral secondary alcohol products, and should prove desirable for the production of pharmaceutical intermediates that are free from metal contaminants.     

Ultrafast dynamics of room temperature ionic liquids after ultraviolet femtosecond excitation

The photochemistry and relaxation dynamics of four room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) after ultraviolet (UV) photolysis were investigated by femtosecond pump-probe absorption spectroscopy. A pulse duration-limited rise of the induced absorption in halide-containing RTILs at various probe wavelengths was attributed to the generation of solvated electrons. With continuous irradiation (static conditions), di- and trihalide ion formation became apparent especially below 1000 nm. The formation of trihalide ions was further confirmed by steady-state UV absorption spectroscopy. All RTILs showed a rich photochemistry after UV photolysis leading to the build-up of various long-lived intermediate products as evidenced from the observation that ionic liquids turn yellow upon continuous irradiation. On the other hand, exposing RTILs to the excitation pulse for a short time (rapid-scan method) significantly suppressed the formation of halides. The results suggest that the development of flow-cell systems for highly viscous ionic liquids is urgently needed to quantitatively investigate their ultrafast dynamics.