The nature of associates of 1,4-dinitrobenzene dianion with 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium and 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium cations

Association of 1,4-dinitrobenzene (1,4-DNB) dianion (DA) with 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium (bmim⁺) and 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium (bdmim⁺) cations, whose salts are widely used as ionic liquids, was studied by cyclic voltammetry. In 0.1 M solution of Bu₄NClO₄ in DMF, associates with the number of coordinated cations up to four in the case of bmim⁺ and two in the case of bdmim⁺ are formed. The partial stability constant values for the associates of bmim⁺ are 40, 20, 5, and 3.2 L mol⁻¹, of bdmim⁺ − 24 and 1.9 L mol⁻¹. The higher number of coordinated bmim+ cations is attributed to the formation of, along with ion pairs, hydrogen bonds between 1,4-DNB DA and bmim⁺ due to the labile hydrogen atom at position 2 of the imidazole ring, in contrast to bdmim⁺, which is involved only into the ion-pair interactions.