Spin exchange in solutions of TEMPOL in n-octanol and 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate in the temperature range from 300 to 500 K

Comprehensive examinations of the motional properties (rotational correlation time τ(R)) and the spin exchange ω(SS) of the spin probe TEMPOL have been carried out using ESR spectroscopy in two different solvents. For the first time, the dynamic parameters τ(R) and ω(SS) have been determined simultaneously by simulation of spectra measured at three different ESR frequencies (L-, X-, and Q-band) between 293 and 500 K using a dynamic model based on a stochastic fitting program and, for comparison, two alternative models involving the shift of the hyperfine lines and considering the line broadening due to spin exchange in a wide range of conditions. Possibilities and limits of the used models are shown upon comparing the obtained results of the spin exchange. Moreover, the analysis of the ESR spectra gave evidence for the existence of cage effects that produce re-encounters of the spin probes. This has been done for the activation energies, which have been calculated from the temperature dependence of the rate constants of the spin exchange. From the ratio of the activation energies and the influence of the viscosities on the dynamics of the examined systems in n-octanol and an ionic liquid, conclusions can be drawn for the re-encounter effects in solvent cages. However, in contrast to n-octanol, the dynamics of the spin probe in the ionic liquid depends on specific and anisotropic interactions. The temperature dependence of the Q-band measurements required the development of a novel Q-band cavity.