Studies on the micropolarities of bmimBF4/TX-100/toluene ionic liquid microemulsions and their behaviors characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy

Ionic liquids (ILs), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF4), were substituted for polar water and formed nonaqueous microemulsions with toluene by the aid of nonionic surfactant TX-100. The phase behavior of the ternary system was investigated, and microregions of bmimBF4-in-toluene (IL/O), bicontinuous, and toluene-in-bmimBF4 (O/IL) were identified by traditional electrical conductivity measurements. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) revealed the formation of the IL microemulsions. The micropolarities of the IL/O microemulsions were investigated by the UV-vis spectroscopy using the methyl orange (MO) and methylene blue (MB) as absorption probes. The results indicated that the polarity of the IL/O microemulsion increased only before the IL pools were formed, whereas a relatively fixed polar microenvironment was obtained in the IL pools of the microemulsions. Moreover, UV-vis spectroscopy has also shown that ionic salt compounds such as Ni(NO3)2, CoCl2, CuCl2, and biochemical reagent riboflavin could be solubilized into the IL/O microemulsion droplets, indicating that the IL/O microemulsions have potential application in the production of metallic or semiconductor nanomaterials, and in biological extractions or as solvents for enzymatic reactions. The IL/O microemulsions may have some expected effects due to the unique features of ILs and microemulsions.     

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.     

Role of solubilized water in the reverse ionic liquid microemulsion of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate/TX-100/benzene

The ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF4) can form nonaqueous microemulsions with benzene by the aid of nonionic surfactant TX-100. The effect of water on ionic liquid-in-oil (IL/O) microemulsions was studied, and it was shown that the addition of small amount of water to the IL microemulsion contributed to the stability of microemulsion and thus increased the amount of solubilized bmimBF4 in the microemulsion. The conductivity measurements also showed that the attractive interactions between IL microdroplets were weakened, that is, the IL/O microemulsion becomes more stable in the present of some water. Fourier transform IR was carried out to analyze the states of the added water, and the result showed that these water molecules mainly behaved as bound water and trapped water, indicating that the water molecules are located in the palisade layers of the IL/O microemulsion. Furthermore, 1H NMR and 19F NMR spectra suggested that the added water molecules built the hydrogen binding network of imidazolium cations and H2O, BF4- anion and H2O, and at the same time the electronegative oxygen atoms of the oxyethylene units of TX-100 and water in the palisade layers, which made the palisade layers more firm and thus increased the stability of the microemulsion. The study can help in further understanding the formation mechanism of microemulsions. In addition, the characteristic solubilization behavior of the added water can provide an aqueous interface film for hydrolysis reactions and therefore may be used as an ideal medium to prepare porous or hollow nanomaterials.     

Research on electrochemical properties of nonaqueous ionic liquid microemulsions

The nonaqueous ionic liquid (IL) microemulsions composed of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, Triton X-100, and toluene were prepared and the electrochemical properties of the nonaqueous IL microemulsions were investigated in this paper. It is shown that characteristics of the nonaqueous IL microemulsions such as electrical conductivity, electrochemical window, and solubility are good, which indicate that the nonaqueous IL microemulsions can be used as electrolyte for electrochemical research. The electrochemical properties of the nonaqueous IL microemulsions were researched by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy methods using potassium ferricyanide as electroactive probe. It was found that the reversibility was better and the peak current densities of CV were higher for the [Fe(CN)₆]³⁻/[Fe(CN)₆]⁴⁻ electrode reaction in the nonaqueous IL microemulsions than those in IL. However, the electrochemical behavior of the probe in the nonaqueous IL microemulsions with different microenvironments (oil-in-IL, IL-in-oil, and bicontinuous) was different. The electrochemical property of the probe in the oil-in-IL microemulsion was the best, which was studied in detail.     

Tween80/BmimPF6/醇/甲苯体系的相行为

以环境友好型的Tween80为表面活性剂, 以醇(乙醇、正丁醇、正己醇、正辛醇、正癸醇和异戊醇)为助表面活性剂, 对离子液体1-丁基-3-甲基咪唑六氟磷酸盐(bmimPF6)和甲苯进行了微乳化实验, 绘制了不同条件下Tween80离子液体的微乳体系的拟三元相图, 考察了醇的种类、含量对单相微乳区的影响, 并用电导法研究了在乙醇为助表面活性剂情况下, 单相微乳区的结构转变. 结果表明, 当醇(异戊醇)固定时, 随着表面活性剂/醇的质量比增加, 单相微乳区的面积逐渐增大; 不同链长的直链醇对单相微乳区的面积影响与该醇在离子液体中的溶解情况有关, 单相微乳区的面积随着直链醇链长的增加而越小; 当乙醇作助表面活性剂时, 所得到的单相微乳区的面积最大, 且单相微乳区存在着O/IL(oil-in-ionic liquid)、双连续相和IL/O(ionic liquid-in-oil)三种微结构. 尤其对离子液体微乳体系的电导随油的含量的增加而最初增大的现象进行了解释, 这一现象是由于油主要起到减少离子液体中离子对或离子的积聚, 提高带电离子淌度的作用.     

Decrease of droplet size of the reverse microemulsion 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate/Triton X-100/cyclohexane by addition of water

In the present contribution, results concerning the role of small amounts of water in the 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF4)-in-cyclohexane ionic liquid (IL) reverse microemulsions are reported. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) revealed that the size of microemulsion droplets decreased remarkably with increasing water content although water is often used as a polar component to swell reverse microemulsions. It was thus deduced that the number of microemulsion droplets was increased which was confirmed by conductivity measurements. The states of dissolved water were investigated by Fourier transform IR (FTIR) spectroscopic analysis showing that water molecules mainly act as bound water. 1H NMR along with two-dimensional rotating frame nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) experiments (ROESY) further revealed that water molecules were mainly located in the periphery of the polar core of the microemulsion droplets and behave like a chock being inserted in the palisade layer of the droplet. This increased the curvature of the surfactant film at the IL/cyclohexane interface and thus led to the decrease of the microemulsion droplet size. The order of surfactant molecules arranged in the interface film was increased and thus induced a loss of entropy. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) indicated that an enthalpy increase compensates for the loss of entropy during the process of microstructural transition.     

Surfactant-free Ionic Liquid Microemulsions of N,N-dimethylformamide, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate,and toluene

The phase diagram of a ternary system consisting of the hydrophobic ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (bmimPF₆), N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF), and toluene was prepared at 25°C. A single-phase microemulsion and a multiphase region were demonstrated. The systems were nonaqueous IL microemulsions in the absence of traditional surfactants. The single-phase region could be divided into toluene-in-bmimPF₆, bicontinuous, and bmimPF₆-in-toluene subregions by electrical conductivity, similar to the case of surfactant-based IL microemulsions. And by the use of methyl orange as an absorption probe, the polarity of the bmimPF₆-in-toluene microemulsion was probed by UV–vis spectroscopy. The polarity of bmimPF₆ domains increased with increasing bmimPF₆ constant, and a relatively constant polarity was obtained when bmimPF₆ was increased to a certain extent.     

The effect of water on the microstructure of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate/TX-100/benzene ionic liquid microemulsions

The ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([bmim][BF4]) forms nonaqueous microemulsions with benzene with the aid of nonionic surfactant TX-100. The phase diagram of the ternary system was prepared, and the microstructures of the microemulsion were recognized. On the basis of the phase diagram, a series of ionic liquid-in-oil (IL/O) microemulsions were chosen and characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS), which shows a similar swelling behavior to typical water-in-oil (W/O) microemulsions. The existence of IL pools in the IL/O microemulsion was confirmed by UV/Vis spectroscopic analysis with CoCl2 and methylene blue (MB) as the absorption probes. A constant polarity of the IL pool is observed, even if small amounts of water are added to the microemulsion, thus suggesting that the water molecules are solubilized in the polar outer shell of the microemulsion, as confirmed by FTIR spectra. 1H NMR spectroscopic analysis shows that these water molecules interact with the electronegative oxygen atoms of the oxyethylene (OE) units of TX-100 through hydrogen-bonding interactions, and the electronegative oxygen atoms of the water molecules attract the electropositive imidazolium rings of [bmim][BF4]. Hence, the water molecules are like a glue that stick the IL and OE units more tightly together and thus make the microemulsion system more stable. Considering the unique solubilization behavior of added water molecules, the IL/O microemulsion system may be used as a medium to prepare porous or hollow nanomaterials by hydrolysis reactions.     

States of water located in the continuous organic phase of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate/Triton X-100/triethylamine reverse microemulsions.

We demonstrate a novel ionic liquid (IL) microemulsion, consisting of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF4) and nonionic surfactant Triton X-100 prepared in triethylamine which is used either as an organic solvent or a Lewis base. The effects of small amounts of added water on the microstructure of the IL microemulsion are investigated by various techniques. UV/Vis spectroscopic analysis and FTIR spectra indicate that these water molecules are not solubilized into the IL pools of the microemulsions. 1H NMR spectra further show that the added water binds with triethylamine to form a surrounding OH- base environment. Some of OH- ions enter the palisade layers of the IL microemulsions and a continuous base interface is created. The unique solubilization behavior of water reveals that it is possible to use the triethylamine microemulsions as a template to prepare metal hydroxides as well as metal oxides in the microemulsions, which is not possible when using traditional microemulsions.     

V2O5/高硅分子筛的酸性与甲苯气相选择氧化

用固体离子交换法制备了Ｖ２Ｏ５／ＺＳＭ－５和Ｖ２Ｏ５／丝光沸石两类催化剂。通过ＸＲＤ，ＬＲＳ，ＸＰＳ和Ｓｇ测定表征了Ｖ２Ｏ５在分子筛上的分散状态。用吡啶吸附红外光谱法和正丁胺非水溶液回滴法研究了催化剂的表面酸性。用ＥＳＲ研究了甲苯在催化剂上的吸附。结果表明，催化剂的酸性不同，它们吸附甲苯的能力也不同，对甲苯气相选择氧化的活性和选择性也有较大的差异。同时，甲苯选择氧化成苯甲醛的能力还与Ｖ２Ｏ５在分子     

Novel Synthesis of CeO2 Nanoparticles Within Formamide/Tri(ethyleneglycol)monododecyl Ether/n-Octane Nonaqueous Microemulsion Systems

The present study evaluates a new method to prepare Cerium oxide (CeO₂) nanoparticles by formamide/tri(ethyleneglycol)monododecyl ether (C₁₂E₃)/n-octane oil-continuous nonaqueous microemulsion. The effect of the polar phase (formamide/water) on the phase behavior, drop size, and conductivity behavior of the reverse microemulsion were investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to characterize the phase and morphology of synthesized CeO₂ nanoparticles. It was found that the CeO₂ powders synthesized within nonaqueous microemulsions and aqueous microemulisons had an average particle size of 30–50 nm and 15–40 nm, respectively. The experimental results indicate the formation mechanism of CeO₂ nanoparticles in formamide nonaqueous microemulsion and aqueous microemulsion is similar, and the formamide nonaqueous microemulsion can be used as nanoreactors for preparation of nanoparticles.     

FTIR study of Tween80/1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate/toluene microemulsions

With the aid of Tween80, an environmentally benign nonionic surfactant applied to medicine and food industry, the ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (bmimPF₆) formed IL microemulsions with toluene. The phase diagram of the ternary system was prepared at 25 °C. It was demonstrated that there were a single-phase region and a multiple phase region in the ternary phase diagram. The single-phase region could be further divided into toluene-in-bmimPF₆, bicontinuous, and bmimPF₆-in-toluene microemulsion regions by electrical conductivity. In particular, the microstructural characteristics of the microemulsions were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results indicated that it was the hydrogen-bonded interactions between bmimPF₆ and Tween80 that might be the driving force for the solubilization of bmimPF₆ into the core of the Tween80 aggregates.     

TX-100/water/1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate microemulsions

Both ionic liquids and water are typical green solvents. In this work, the phase behavior of the ternary system consisting of ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (bmimPF6), TX-100, and water was determined at 25.0 degrees C. The water-in-bmimPF6, bicontinuous, and bmimPF6-in-water microregions of the microemulsions were identified by cyclic voltammetry method using potassium ferrocyanide K4Fe(CN)6 as the electroactive probe. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and the UV-vis method were used to characterize the microemulsions. It was demonstrated that the hydrodynamic diameter (Dh) of the bmimPF6-in-water microemulsions is nearly independent of the water content but increases with increasing bmimPF6 content due to the swelling of the micelles by the ionic liquid. The UV-vis further confirmed the existence of water domains in the water-in-bmimPF6 microemulsions, and the salt potassium ferricyanide K3Fe(CN)6 could be dissolved in the water domains.     

Study on the Polarity of bmimPF6/Tween80/toluene Microemulsion Characterized by UV-Visible Spectroscopy

With the aid of nonionic surfactant Tween80, the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (bmimPF₆) forms nonaqueous microemulsions with toluene. The phase diagram of the ternary system was prepared at 25°C. It was demonstrated that there were a single-phase region and a two-phase region in the ternary phase diagram. The single-phase region could be further divided into toluene-in-bmimPF₆, bicontinuous and bmimPF₆-in-toluene microemulsion regions by electrical conductivity. And by the use of methyl orange as an absorption probe, the polarity of the bmimPF₆-in-toluene microemulsion was probed by UV-vis spectroscopy. A relatively constant polarity of the microemulsion droplets is obtained in the bmimPF₆ microemulsion.     

High-impact polystyrene/halloysite nanocomposites prepared by emulsion polymerization using sodium dodecyl sulfate as surfactant

In this work, we report on the phase behavior of 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium-ethylsulfate ([emim][etSO(4)])/limonene/polyethylene glycol tert-octylphenyl ether (Triton X-114 or TX-114) microemulsions as a function of ionic liquid (IL) content and temperature. Phase diagrams, conductivity measurements, and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments will be presented. A hydrophilic IL, instead of water is used with the goal to enlarge the temperature range on which stable microemulsions can be formed. Indeed, the system shows remarkably large temperature stability, in particular down to -35 °C. We will emphasize on a comparison with a recently published work about microemulsions composed of [emim][etSO(4)], limonene, and Triton X-100 that to some extent are stable at temperatures well below the freezing point of water. The key parameter responsible for the difference in phase behavior, microstructure, and temperature stability is the average repeating number of ethylene oxide units in the surfactant head group, which is smaller for Triton X-114 compared to Triton X-100. Among the fundamental interest, how the amphiphilicity of the surfactant influences the phase diagram and phase behavior of IL-based microemulsions, the exchange of Triton X-100 by Triton X-114 results in one main advantage: along the experimental path the temperature where phase segregation occurs is significantly lowered leading to single phase microemulsions that exist at temperatures beneath 0 °C.     

微乳液结构的研究

测定了十二烷基磺酸钠／正丁醇／２０％苯乙烯／水体系的相平衡，用冷冻刻蚀、ＥＳＲ、ＦＴ－ＩＲ研究了上述体系微乳液的结构，研究表明，苯乙烯含量恒定时，随着体系中水含量增加，电导确定的双连续结构的微乳液经历着从油包水到以连续再到水包油变化，ＦＴ－ＩＲ测定表明，Ｗ／Ｏ微乳兴较Ｏ／Ｗ微乳液的ＯＨ伸缩振动和弯曲振动频率有显著减小，说明Ｗ／Ｏ微乳兴中氢键缔合要比Ｏ／Ｗ强得多。ＥＳＲ测定表明Ｏ／Ｗ微乳液的旋转相关     

Tuning high aqueous phase uptake in nonionic water-in-oil microemulsions for the synthesis of Mn-Zn ferrite nanoparticles: phase behavior, characterization, and nanoparticle synthesis

In this work, the formation of water-in-oil (w/o) microemulsions with high aqueous phase uptake in a nonionic surfactant system is investigated as potential media for the synthesis of Mn-Zn ferrite nanoparticles. A comprehensive study based on the phase behavior of systems containing precursor salts, on one hand, and precipitating agent, on the other hand, was carried out to identify key regions on (a) pseudoternary phase diagrams at constant temperature (50 °C), and (b) pseudobinary phase diagrams at constant surfactant (S):oil(O) weight ratio (S:O) as a function of temperature. The internal structure and dynamics of microemulsions were studied systematically by conductivity and self-diffusion coefficient determinations (FT PGSE (1)H NMR). It was found that nonpercolated w/o microemulsions could be obtained by appropriate tuning of composition variables and temperature, with aqueous phase concentrations as high as 36 wt % for precursor salts and 25 wt % for precipitating agent systems. Three compositions with three different dynamic behaviors (nonpercolated and percolated w/o, as well as bicontinuous microemulsions) were selected for the synthesis of Mn-Zn ferrites, resulting in nanoparticles with different characteristics. Spinel structure and superparamagnetic behavior were obtained. This study sets firm basis for a systematic study of Mn-Zn ferrite nanoparticle synthesis via different scenarios of microemulsion dynamics, which will contribute to a better understanding on the relationship of the characteristics of the obtained materials with the properties of the reaction media.     

Ionic liquid-assisted synthesis of silver nanorods by polyol reduction

<正>Silver nanorods have been successfully synthesized in large scale by the ethylene glycol(EG) reduction in the presence of ionic liquid(IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate(bmimBF_4) and polyvinyl-pyrrolidone(PVP).The silver nanorods were characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM),high-resolution transmission electron microscopy(HRTEM),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),electron energy disperse spectroscopy(EDS) and UV-vis spectroscopy.The results showed that the uniform silver nanorods have an average diameter of about 100 nm and the aspect ratio from 15 to 20.IL,bmimBF_4 may play a role of capping agent together with PVP in the formation of silver nanorods.On the other band,bmimBF_4 may accelerate nucleation and improve the stability of the resulting Ag nanorods due to the low interface tension of IL.     

载药微乳液相行为的研究

提出了一种基于相图研究实现纳米药物载体可控制备的方法.采用微乳液控温相图绘制装置绘制了硬脂酸聚烃氧(40)酯(S-40)/聚氧乙烯聚氧丙烯醚嵌段共聚物(F-68)/单硬脂酸甘油酯(GMS)/水体系的拟三元相图,基于电导率测定值确定了微乳液的结构(W/O、双连续相和O/W),该体系同时存在液晶区域.乳化剂S-40/F-68的质量比为7:3.研究了脂溶性药物维甲酸(RA)对微乳液相行为的影响，结果表明RA的加入对微乳液的相行为影响较小.基于相图研究结果制备了维甲酸固体脂质纳米粒(RA-SLN),亚微米粒度分析仪(PCS)测定的平均粒径和透射电镜测试都表明RA-SLN为10 nm左右的球状粒子.     

Some selected problems of nonaqueous microemulsions — phase diagrams and variation of the composition in the quaternary and ternary systems

A variety of quaternary and ternary systems of the type of dodecane/aliphatic alcohols/Na-dodecyl sulphate/water or a water-replacing component (formamide, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, propylene carbonate, dimethylsulfoxide, acetonitrile) were subjected to a comparative analysis of microemulsification. The compositions of the systems of the type of oil/surfactant/cosurfactant/water or nonaqueous liquid were changed with respect to surfactant (Na-dodecyl sulfate and triton X 114) concentration, cosurfactant (homologous aliphatic alcohols) concentration and mixing ratio of water and water-replacing component. The appertaining phase diagrams were plotted and compared with those of aqueous systems.The experimental results suggest that the phase regions, which are designated as nonaqueous microemulsions, probably represent, not only microemulsions in the usual sense, but a separate kind of mixed phase whose microstructure is examined by special studies. Analogously to aqueous microemulsion systems, transparency and spontaneous formation of homogeneous multicomponent systems cannot serve as the sole criteria for waterless microemulsion formation. But they are important guiding properties of microemulsion formation in multicomponent systems.The variety of components involved in the chemical composition and the current insufficient knowledge do not permit to generally decide whether nonaqueous systems can be assigned to microemulsions or to molecular solutions. For clarifying this problem a detailed examination of the miscibility behavior, especially that of binary systems as a function of temperature, and the role that surfactant and cosurfactant play in the formation of homogeneous systems will be necessary.