Application of the Bahe's pseudolattice-theory to water—1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF4) mixtures at 298.15 K: Part I. Autoprotolysis constants

The autoprotolysis constants (K_s) of water - 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF₄) mixtures were determined at 298 K over the composition range of 0 to 77.43 vol.% bmimBF₄ using potentiometric method with a glass electrode. A slight increase in the autoprotolysis constant was observed when the salt was added to the water. The value of the ionic product of the medium then decreases as the bmimBF₄ content increases from about 20 vol.%. The acid-base properties of these media were perfectly described by Bahe's approaches that were completed by Varela et al. concerning structured electrolyte solutions with large short-range interactions.     

Evidence of a phase transition in water-1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate and water-1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate mixtures at 298 K: determination of the surface thermal coefficient, bT,P

We studied the aggregation behavior of two short-chain room-temperature ionic liquids. Previous surface tension studies have shown that 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF(4)) aggregates in water. We observed the same behavior for another ionic liquid, 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bdmimBF(4)). We carried out a thermodynamic study of the mixtures between water and the two butylimidazolium salts to investigate this unusual behavior for cations with short chains by determining the surface thermal coefficient, b(T,P). Plotting b(T,P) as a function of the molar fraction (X) of the two salts showed a clear discontinuity at X = 0.016 for bmimBF(4) and X = 0.004 for bdmimBF(4). This discontinuity could be attributed to a transition such as an aggregation.     

Viscosities and refractive indices of binary mixtures of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate and 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate with water at 298 K

Viscosities and refractive indices have been determined for (water + 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate) and (water + 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate) mixtures at 298.15 K, over the whole composition range. The refractive indices were compared with the predictions of the Lorentz–Lorenz, Wiener, and Gladstone–Dale equations. Viscosity deviations (Δη) and refractive index deviations (Δn_D) have been calculated and fitted to the Redlich–Kister polynomial equations. Δn_D are positive whereas Δη are negative over the entire mixture composition for the two salts. The influence of the structure of imidazolium cation on the above physicochemical properties was discussed.     

Densities and volumetric properties of binary mixtures of the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate with benzaldehyde at T = (298.15 to 313.15) K

The densities of the binary mixtures formed by 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate [bmim][BF₄] with aromatic compound (benzaldehyde) have been determined over the full range of compositions at the temperature range from (298.15 to 313.15) K and at atmospheric pressure using a vibrating-tube densimeter (DMA4500). Excess molar volumes $(V_{\text{m}}^{\text{E}})$ have been obtained from these experimental results, and been fitted by the fourth-order Redlich–Kister equation. In addition, partial molar volumes, apparent molar volumes, and partial molar volumes at infinite dilution have been calculated for each component. Our results show $V_{\text{m}}^{\text{E}}$ decreases slightly when temperature increases in the systems studied. The results have been interpreted in terms of ion–dipole interactions and structural factors of the ionic liquid and these organic molecular liquids.     

J-aggregates of diprotonated tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin induced by ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate

The J-aggregation behavior of diprotonated tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin (H2TPPS4(2-)) in aqueous solution in the presence of the hydrophilic ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF4) was investigated in detail using UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, resonance light scattering (RLS) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. With the addition of bmimBF4, increasing peaks appeared at a wavelength of 490 nm in the absorption spectra to account for the formation of H 2TPPS4(2-) J-aggregates. In addition, the experimental results also showed decreased fluorescence emission, enhanced RLS signals, intensified Raman scattering peaks, and the disappearance of NMR signals to further indicate that porphyrin J-aggregates exist in the studied system. NMR shifts of bmimBF 4 toward high field occurred corresponding to H2, H4, and H5 in the cationic imidazolium ring (bmim+), suggesting that bmim+ enters the magnetic shielding domain of the anionic phenyl sulfonate ion owing to the association process between the "large" cation and anion. Additionally, the fact that the absorption spectral shifts occurred in the nonprotonated porphyrin TPPS4(4-) further indicates the existence of the ion association effect of bmim+, which functions as an important factor in porphyrin aggregation.     

A new force field model of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ionic liquid and acetonitrile mixtures

Recently, we introduced a new force field (FF) to simulate transport properties of imidazolium-based room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) using a solid physical background. In the present work, we apply this FF to derive thermodynamic, structure, and transport properties of the mixtures of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, [BMIM][BF(4)], and acetonitrile (ACN) over the whole composition range. Three approaches to derive a force field are formulated based on different treatments of the ion-ion and ion-molecule Coulomb interactions: unit-charge, scaled-charge and floating-charge approaches. The simulation results are justified with the help of experimental data on specific density and shear viscosity for these mixtures. We find that a phenomenological account (particularly, a simple scaled-charge model) of electronic polarization leads to the best-performing model. Remarkably, its validity does not depend on the molar fraction of [BMIM][BF(4)] in the mixture. The derived FF is so far the first molecular model which is able to simulate all transport properties of the mixtures, comprising RTIL and ACN, fully realistically.     

Structural change of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate + water mixtures studied by infrared vibrational spectroscopy

Mixtures of ionic liquid (IL, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, [BMIM][BF4]) and water with varying concentrations were studied by attenuated total reflection infrared absorption and Raman spectroscopy. Changes in the peak intensities and peak positions of CHx (x = 1, 2, 3) vibration modes of the cation of the IL and OH vibration modes of the water molecules were investigated. Peaks from normal-mode stretch vibrations of CH bonds belonging to the imidazolium ring of the cation did not change their positions, while those from the terminal methyl group of the butyl chain blueshifted by approximately 10 cm-1 with the addition of water. On the other hand, change in the spectral shape in the OH stretch vibration region shows hydrogen-bonding network of water molecules breaking down rapidly as the IL is added. Trends in the change of the peak positions and the peak intensities suggested qualitative change of the intermolecular structure in the [BMIM][BF4] + H2O mixture at 32 +/- 2 and 45 +/- 2 mol/L of water concentration.     

Excess thermodynamic properties of ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate and N-octyl-2-pyrrolidone from T = (298.15 to 323.15) K at atmospheric pressure

Density (ρ), refractive index (n_D) and speed of sound (u) values are measured for the binary mixture of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate and N-octyl-2-pyrrolidone over the entire range of mole fraction at temperatures from T = (298.15 to 323.15) K under atmospheric pressure. Using the basic experimental data, various acoustic and excess thermodynamic parameters are calculated and are discussed in terms of molecular interactions between the present investigated binary system. The excess values are fitted to Redlich–Kister polynomial equation to estimate the binary coefficients and standard deviation between the experimental and calculated values. Further, the molecular interactions in the binary mixture system are analysed using the experimental FT-IR spectrum recorded at room temperature.     

Part I: Thermodynamic analysis of volumetric properties of concentrated aqueous solutions of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate,and ethylammonium nitrate based on pseudo-lattice theory

This study concerns volumetric behaviour of mixtures between water and three ionic liquids: 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF₄), 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bdmimBF₄), and ethylammonium nitrate (EAN). We report that the pseudo-lattice theory proposed by Bahe and recently supplemented by Varela et al. can suitably describe the partial molar volume of ionic liquids throughout the composition scale from the infinitely dilute state to the pure room temperature molten salt. In this approach, the ions of 1:1 electrolytes in concentrated solutions are supposed to be distributed in a face-centred-cubic structure. The main advantage of this approach is that, contrary to Debye–Hückel approach, it widens the range of composition that can be described to high concentration salt solutions (several times molar) and also the most diluted salt solutions.     

Temperature dependence of the microstructure of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate in aqueous solution

Many applications of ionic liquids (ILs) are closely related with their microstructure in mixtures. For example, morphology and pore size of the MCM-41 prepared in aqueous ILs are greatly dependent on the aggregation behavior of the ILs in water. Therefore, the study on the microstructure of ILs in aqueous solutions is of great importance. In this work, ¹H NMR, dynamic light scattering and attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy have been used to investigate the temperature effect on the structures of aqueous 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([C₄mim][BF₄]) solutions. It was shown that the size of the IL aggregates becomes larger with decreasing temperature. When the system temperature is below the upper critical solution temperature (UCST) of the binary mixture at about 4 °C, the aggregate size of the IL is larger than 1000 nm. Additionally, the two-dimensional IR results reveal that at low IL concentrations, H₂O can interact with [BF₄]⁻ prior to the CH groups of the imidazolium ring, whereas cation and anion of the IL tend to form aggregate at high IL concentrations. With the decrease of temperature, the interactions between cation and anion of the IL become stronger, but those between the IL and water become weaker, thereby resulting in the growth of the aggregate of cation with anion of the IL. This result may give a reasonable explanation for the origin of the UCST behavior of aqueous [C₄mim][BF₄] solution.     

One-step solvent-free synthesis of fluoroalkyl-substituted 4-hydroxy-2-oxo(thioxo)hexahydropyrimidines in the presence of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate

A convenient procedure has been developed for the synthesis of fluoroalkyl-substituted 6-aryl-4-hydroxy-2-oxo-(thioxo)hexahydropyrimidine derivatives by three-component condensation of fluorinated β-dicarbonyl compounds with aromatic aldehydes and urea or thiourea in the absence of a solvent using 6 mol % of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate as catalyst.     

Unusual solvatochromism within 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate + poly(ethylene glycol) mixtures

Hybrid "green" solvent systems composed of room-temperature ionic liquids (ILs) and poly(ethylene glycols) (PEGs) may have enormous future potential. Solvatochromic absorbance probe behavior is used to assess the physicochemical properties of the mixture composed of IL 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF(6)]) and PEG (average molecular weights of 200, 400, 600, and 1500) at ambient conditions. Lowest energy intramolecular charge-transfer absorbance maxima of a betaine dye, i.e., E(T)(N), indicates the dipolarity/polarizability and/or hydrogen-bond donating (HBD) acidity of the [bmim][PF 6] + PEG mixtures to be even higher than that of neat [bmim][PF(6)], the solution component with higher dipolarity/polarizability and/or HBD acidity. Dipolarity/polarizability (pi*) obtained separately from the electronic absorbance response of probe N, N-diethyl-4-nitroaniline shows a trend similar to E(T)(N ) thus confirming the unusually high dipolarity/polarizability of the [bmim][PF(6)] + PEG mixtures. Similar to E(T)(N ) and pi*, the HBD acidity (alpha) of [bmim][PF(6)] + PEG mixtures is also observed to be anomalously high. Contrary to what is observed for E(T)(N ), pi*, and alpha, the hydrogen-bond accepting (HBA) basicity (beta) of the [bmim][PF(6)] + PEG mixtures is observed to be lower than that predicted from ideal additive behavior indicating diminished HBA basicity of the mixture as compared to its neat components. A four-parameter simplified combined nearly ideal binary solvent/Redlich-Kister (CNIBS/R-K) equation is shown to satisfactorily predict the solvatochromic parameters within [bmim][PF(6)] + PEG mixtures. It is demonstrated that [bmim][PF(6)] + PEG mixtures possess physicochemical properties that are superior to those of either the neat IL or the neat PEG.     

Effect of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate on the formation rate of CO2 hydrate

The effect of the addition of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate （[C4mim][BF4]） on the formation rates of CO2 hydrates was investigate. The isothermal and isobaric methods were used to measure the formation rates of CO2 hydrates. As compared to those of pure water, the data of phase equilibrium changed greatly. The effects of pressure, temperature, and the concentration of [C4mim][BF4] aqueous solution on the formation rates of CO2 hydrates were investigated. With a constant concentration of [C4mim][BF4], the rate of gas consumption was enhanced with the lowering of experimental temperature. However, a decrease in pressure exerted an opposite effect on the rate of gas consumption. Moreover, the addition of [C4mim][BF4] raised the equilibrium pressure of hydrate formation at the same temperature.     

Electrochemistry of water in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate at nickel electrode: application to hydrogen peroxide production and water sensing

The electrochemistry of water dissolved in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([C₄mim][BF₄]) was studied by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy using a nickel electrode. Hydrogen peroxide is being produced by direct electrolysis of water in a cooperative process between the nickel electrode and [C₄mim][BF₄]. There is linear response between the concentration of water and the oxidation peak current at 1.60 V. Impedance decreases significantly with increasing concentration of water. The findings resulted in two promising applications: The first is the production of hydrogen peroxide, and the second is in water sensing. Both methods are environmentally friendly and convenient.     

Structural studies of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate/TX-100/ p-xylene ionic liquid microemulsions.

The ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF4) forms nonaqueous microemulsions with p-xylene, with the aid of the nonionic surfactant TX-100. The phase behavior of the ternary system is investigated, and three microregions of the microemulsions-ionic liquid-in-oil (IL/O), bicontinuous, and oil-in-ionic liquid (O/IL)-are identified by conductivity measurements, according to percolation theory. On the basis of a phase diagram, a series of IL/O microemulsions are chosen and characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS). The size of aggregates increases on increasing the amount of added polar component (bmimBF(4)), which is a similar phenomenon to that observed for typical water-in-oil (W/O) microemulsions, suggesting the formation of IL/O microemulsions. The microstructural characteristics of the microemulsions are investigated by FTIR and 1H NMR spectroscopy. The results indicate that the interaction between the electronegative oxygen atoms of the oxyethylene (OE) units in TX-100 and the electropositive imidazolium ring may be the driving force for the solubilization of bmimBF4 into the core of the TX-100 aggregates. In addition, the micropolarity of the microemulsions is investigated by using methyl orange (MO) as a UV/Vis spectroscopic probe. A relatively constant polarity of the microemulsion droplets is obtained in the IL microemulsion. Finally, a plausible structure for the IL/O microemulsion is presented.     

Direct electroreduction of solid cuprous chloride to copper powder in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ionic liquid

Direct electroreduction of solid cuprous chloride to prepare copper powder in a “neutral” ambient-temperature ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ionic liquid (BMIMBF₄) was investigated. Cyclic voltammetry of the CuCl powder in a Pt-powder cavity microelectrode exhibited that solid CuCl can be electrochemical reduced in the ionic liquid. Chronoamperometry of the salt powder filled Mo-cavity electrode (current collector) in the ionic liquid further demonstrated the conversion of chloride-to metal inside the cavity, as confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray, and X-ray diffraction spectra.     

Two-phase catalytic NBR hydrogenation by RuHCl(CO)(PCy3)2 immobilized in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate molten salt

RuHCl(CO)(PCy₃)₂ ( 1 ) dissolved in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ( 2 ) molten salt is able to reduce selectively NBR to HNBR under hydrogen partial pressures between 10 and 40 bar at 100–160°C in a typical two-phase catalytic reaction. Reaction rates between 0.059 (mmol Ru)⁻¹ · min⁻¹ and 1.65 (mmol Ru)⁻¹ · min⁻¹ were obtained depending on the reaction parameters and increasing with the volume of the molten salt. The overall process has an apparent activation energy of 47 ± 3 kJ · mol⁻¹. The recovered ionic catalyst solution can be reused several times without significant changes in the catalytic performance (selectivity and activity).     

Effect of temperature on the physical properties of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium based ionic liquids with thiocyanate and tetrafluoroborate anions,and 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium with tetrafluoroborate and hexafluorophosphate anions

The effect of temperature on the physical properties of some ionic liquids was investigated. Density, refractive index, surface tension, dynamic and kinematic viscosities of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium based ionic liquids with thiocyanate and tetrafluoroborate, and 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium with tetrafluoroborate and hexafluorophosphate anions were measured at various temperatures (density from T = (278.15 to 363.15) K, refractive index from (293.15 to 343.15) K, surface tension from (283.15 to 333.15) K, dynamic viscosity from (283.15 to 368.15) K, and kinematic viscosity from (298.15 to 363.15) K). The volumetric properties for the ionic liquids were also calculated from the experimental values of the density at T = 298.15 K. The Vogel–Fulcher–Tammann (VFT) equation was applied to correlate experimental values of dynamic and kinematic viscosities as a function of temperature. As well, the relation between density and refractive index was correlated satisfactorily with several empirical equations such as Lorentz–Lorenz, Dale–Gladstone, Eykman, Oster, Arago–Biot, Newton and Modified–Eykman. Finally, the relation between surface tension and viscosity was investigated and the parachor method was used to predict density, refractive index and surface tension of the ionic liquids.     

Application of the interstice model to structure characterization of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate

The structure of ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate was characterized by experimental physical parameters and on the basis of the interstice model.