Applications of functionalized ionic liquids

Recent developments of the synthesis and applications of functionalized ionic liquids (including dual-functionalized ionic liquids) have been highlighted in this review. Ionic liquids are at-tracting attention as alternative solvents in green chemistry, but as more functionalized ILs are pre-pared, a greater number of applications in increasingly diverse fields are found.     

How ionic are room-temperature ionic liquids? An indicator of the physicochemical properties

Room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) are liquids consisting entirely of ions, and their important properties, e.g., negligible vapor pressure, are considered to result from the ionic nature. However, we do not know how ionic the RTILs are. The ionic nature of the RTILs is defined in this study as the molar conductivity ratio (Lambda(imp)/Lambda(NMR)), calculated from the molar conductivity measured by the electrochemical impedance method (Lambda(imp)) and that estimated by use of pulse-field-gradient spin-echo NMR ionic self-diffusion coefficients and the Nernst-Einstein relation (Lambda(NMR)). This ratio is compared with solvatochromic polarity scales: anionic donor ability (Lewis basicity), E(T)(30), hydrogen bond donor acidity (alpha), and dipolarity/polarizability (pi), as well as NMR chemical shifts. The Lambda(imp)/Lambda(NMR) well illustrates the degree of cation-anion aggregation in the RTILs at equilibrium, which can be explained by the effects of anionic donor and cationic acceptor abilities for the RTILs having different anionic and cationic backbone structures with fixed counterparts, and by the inductive and dispersive forces for the various alkyl chain lengths in the cations. As a measure of the electrostatic interaction of the RTILs, the effective ionic concentration (C(eff)), which is a dominant parameter for the electrostatic forces of the RTILs, was introduced as the product of Lambda(imp)/Lambda(NMR) and the molar concentration and was compared with some physical properties, such as reported normal boiling points and distillation rates, glass transition temperature, and viscosity. A decrease in C(eff) of the RTILs is well correlated with the normal boiling point and distillation rate, whereas the liquid-state dynamics is controlled by a subtle balance between the electrostatic and other intermolecular forces.     

Syntheses of CuO nanostructures in ionic liquids

A simple and efficient approach is developed to fabricate single-crystalline CuO nanostructures through an ionic liquid assisted one-step low-temperature solid-state route.Both nanoparticles(5 nm in size)and nanorods(5-10 nm in diameter and 50-100 nm in length)of monoclinic CuO were obtained. These synthesized CuO nanostructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),selected area electron diffraction(SAED),X-ray photoelectron spectros- copy(XPS),energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDS)and nitrogen adsorption analysis.The morpholo- gies of the nanostructures can be controlled by tuning the amount of NaOH and ionic liquids.The growth mechanism of CuO nanostructures is investigated.     

Facile synthesis of thiourea derivatives in ionic liquid

The synthesis of cinnamoyl thiourea derivatives from cinnamoyl isothiocyanate (CIT) with substituted aniline (RC6H4NH2) was investigated in the mostly used ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, [Bmim][BF4]. Significant enhance-ments in reactivity, yield and reaction rate were achieved. The products could be recovered by simple filtration. [Bmim][BF4] couldbe recycled simply by removing water under vacuum and reused at least 9 times without significant decrease in activity.     

Local structure of ionic liquid–monohydric alcohol solutions

The method of molecular dynamics is used to investigate the effect of monohydric alcohols on the formation of the local structure of ionic liquids based on the dimethylimidazolium cation at T = 400 K. The intermolecular interaction energies are analyzed to find that the increase in the length of the alkyl chain in the alcohol molecule reduces the influence of the solute molecule on the formation of the local structure of the dmim⁺/Cl^––solute molecule systems. An analysis of the radial distribution function shows that the change in the structure and physical characteristics of the solute molecule does not affect the interaction between the hydroxyl group proton of the alcohol molecule and the ionic liquid anions, whose interactions form the hydrogen bond H^alcohol…Cl^– with a length of 2.3 Å.     

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.     

How polar are ionic liquids? Determination of the static dielectric constant of an imidazolium-based ionic liquid by microwave dielectric spectroscopy

In a pilot study of the dielectric constant of room-temperature ionic liquids, we use dielectric spectroscopy in the megahertz/gigahertz regime to determine the complex dielectric function of five 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium salts, from which the static dielectric constant epsilon is obtained by zero-frequency extrapolation. The results classify the salts as moderately polar solvents. The observed epsilon-values at 298.15 K fall between 15.2 and 8.8, and epsilon decreases with increasing chain length of the alkyl residue of the cation. The anion sequence is trifluoromethylsulfonate > tetrafluoroborate approximately tetrafluorophosphate. The results indicate markedly lower polarities than found by spectroscopy with polarity-sensitive solvatochromic dyes.     

Periodicity and map for discovery of new ionic liquids

1 Introduction In undertaking the researches on ionic liquids, we wished to establish periodicity and draw a “map” of ionic liquids for providing definite guidance to dis-cover, design, and choose the proper ionic liquids to meet the specific applicatio…     

Effect of ionic strength on the stabilities of ciprofloxacin – Metal complexes

Proton–ligand dissociation constant of 1-cyclopropyl-1,4-dihydro-4-oxo-7-(1-piperazinyl) quinolone-3-carboxylic acid is ciprofloxacin and metal–ligand stability constants of its complexes with some metal ions have been determined potentiometrically in the presence of (0.01, 0.02 and 0.03 mol/dm³) NaClO₄. The order of the stability constants of the formed complexes increases in the sequence Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺, Ni²⁺ and Zn²⁺ and decreases with increase in the concentration of ionic strength.     

Investigation of physicochemical properties of lactam-based Brønsted acidic ionic liquids

Novel lactam-cation-based Br?nsted acid ionic liquids (ILs) were prepared through a simple and atom-economic neutralization reaction between a lactam, such as caprolactam and butyrolactam, and a Br?nsted acid, HX, where X is BF4-, CF3COO-, phCOO-, ClCH2COO-, NO3-, or H2PO4-. The density, viscosity, acidic scale, electrochemical window, temperature dependency of ionic conductivity, and thermal property of these ILs were measured and investigated in detail. The results show that protonated caprolactam tetrafluoroborate (CPBF) has a relatively strong acidity with -0.22 of Hammett acidic scale H0 and caprolactam trifluoroacetate (CPTFA) and pyrrolidonium trifluoroacetate (PYTFA) ILs possess very low viscosities, that is, 28 cP and 11 cP, respectively. An investigation of thermal property showed that a wide liquid range (up to -90 degrees C), moderate thermal stability (up to 249 degrees C for 10% of decomposition), and complex polymorphism were observed in these ILs. In comparison to imidazolium-cation-based ILs, the lactam-cation-based Br?nsted acid ILs have a relatively lower cost, lower toxicity, and comparable ion conductivity and heat storage density (more than 200 MJ/m3). They have wide applicable perspectives for fuel cell devices, thermal transfer fluids, and acid-catalyzed reaction media and catalysts as replacements of conventional inorganic acids.     

Dissolution of zinc oxide in a protic ionic liquid with the 1-methylimidazolium cation and electrodeposition of zinc from ZnO/ionic liquid and ZnO/ionic liquid–water mixtures

We show that zinc oxide can be dissolved in the protic ionic liquid 1-methylimidazolium trifluoromethylsulfonate, [MIm]TfO at quite a high concentration (~ 2.5 mol/L). FTIR and Raman spectra revealed the association of zinc ions with 1-methylimidazole. The ZnO/[MIm]TfO solutions and their mixtures with water were employed as electrolytes for the electrodeposition of zinc. High current density electrodeposition of zinc can be achieved in the employed electrolytes. Spongy-like zinc structures with a high porosity were obtained in ZnO/[MIm]TfO and the formation of Au_1.2Zn_8.8 alloy was observed. Compact and hexagonal zinc deposits were found in the presence of water. The present results show the potential of ionic liquids as electrolytes for rechargeable zinc–air batteries.     

Synthesis of a kind of geminal imidazolium ionic liquid with long aliphatic chains

A novel geminal imidazolium ionic liquid with long hydrocarbon group,1,4-bis(3-tetradecylimidazolium-1-yl)butane bromide was synthesized and an efficient synthesized method was introduced detailedly.Its structure was determined by FT-IR,~1H NMR and elemental analysis.     

A novel family of green ionic liquids with surface activities

Ionic liquids have many unique properties as a new and remarkable class of environmental benign solvents,which promises widespread applications in industry and other areas. However,the ionic liq-uids with surface activity are rarely reported. In this work,a series of novel ionic liquids was synthe-sized by using N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and alkyl bromide. The physical properties of this family of ionic liquids have been characterized,which shows that these compounds have ionic liquids characteristics,surface activity and biocompatibility.     

Do anions influence the polarity of protic ionic liquids?

Polarity studies in two classes of imidazolium-based protic ionic liquids (PILs) possessing [HSO(4)](-), [HCOO](-), [CH(3)COO](-) and [CH(3)CH(2)COO](-) anions were carried out using a solvatochromic method from 298.15 to 353.15 K. For 1-methylimidazolium class of PILs, E(T)(30) was found to be independent over the entire range of temperature, while E(T)(30) was noted to decrease with a rise in temperature in the case of 1-butylimidazolium class of PILs containing [CH(3)COO](-) and [CH(3)CH(2)COO](-) anions. The E(T)(30) value decreases in both the classes upon varying the anions ([HSO(4)](-), [HCOO](-), [CH(3)COO](-) and [CH(3)CH(2)COO](-)). The E(T)(30) value is controlled by hydrogen bond acceptor basicity, β, and dipolarity/polarizability, π*. The E(T)(30) value for PILs varies inversely to the strength of the coulombic interaction between ions in PILs. Strong interactions between ions lead to lower E(T)(30) values. Unlike the poor thermal effect on E(T)(30), the Kamlet-Taft parameters i.e. α, β and π* have pronounced thermal effect in the imidazolium-based PILs. Variation in the Kamlet-Taft parameters is controlled by the stabilization of ions and the degree of proton transfer from Br?nsted acid to Br?nsted base.     

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).     

Kinetic model of living ionic polymerization with three active species

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Study of the surface properties and surface concentration of ionic liquid–alcohol mixtures

Surface properties for three binary mixtures containing a 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium thiocyanate ([BMIM][SCN]) and a long-chain alcohol (1-butanol, 1-pentanol and 1-hexanol) were determined by surface tension data at the following temperatures: (298.15, 308.15, 318.15, 328.15 and 338.15) K. The surface tension data over the entire mole fraction range are correlated by the Fu et al.(FLW) and Myers-Scott (MS) models. There is good agreement between the experimental data and the results of correlations for 15 binary systems (the three systems at five temperatures) with an average relative error below 1.5%. In addition, the UNIFAC group contribution method is applied for calculation of activity coefficients of components in solution. Moreover, the relative adsorptions of alcohol at the air/liquid interface are determined using Gibbs adsorption isotherm. The obtained results show that the values of adsorption for mixtures of alcohols/[BMIM][SCN] increase with increasing the alkyl chain length of alcohol and decreasing temperature.     

Fabrication of ZnO nanorods in ionic liquids and their photoluminescent properties

A novel and simple approach is reported to fabricate uniform single-crystal ZnO nanorods in ionic liq-uids. The as-obtained ZnO nanorods have been characterized by XRD,TEM,HRTEM,SAED,XPS,EDXA,PL and UV-vis absorption spectra. The rod diameters of the nanostructures can be controlled by tuning the amount of sodium hydroxide in the synthesis. Photoluminescence results show that the nanos-tructural ZnO exhibits better optical properties than bulk ZnO does and interestingly,the smaller the rod diameters are,the better optical property 1D nanostructural ZnO exhibits. The possible growth mechanism of ZnO nanorods is also investigated.     

A new method of immobilizing ionic liquids into layered zirconium phosphates

In this work, a new method of a series of ion liquids (ILs) 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride [Cnmim]Cl (n = 2, 4, 6, 8) intercalation into layered zirconium phosphates was investigated. It was found that theα-ZrP-2BA (i.e. pre-intercalated BA was arranged in a bilayer mode in the galleries ofα-ZrP) was a suitable host for intercalation ILs: ILs was inserted through exchanging pre-intercalated BA. And the intercalation orientation was investigated by use of X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiments and molecular modeling calculation.     

Purification or contamination? The effect of sorbents on ionic liquids

Commonly used for purification, alumina and silica are found to contaminate ionic liquids with particles; these particles cannot be removed easily and can have a non-negligible impact on the electrochemical, spectroscopic and physical properties of an ionic liquid, including its nucleation and crystallisation kinetics.