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Title: Structure of cyano-anion ionic liquids: X-ray scattering and simulations

Journal Article · · Journal of Chemical Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4955186· OSTI ID:1351355
 [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3];  [3];  [2];  [1];  [3]
  1. Department of Chemistry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, USA
  2. Laboratório de Espectroscopia Molecular, Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, CP 26077, CEP 05513-970 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
  3. Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA

Ionic liquids with cyano anions have long been used because of their unique combination of low-melting temperatures, reduced viscosities, and increased conductivities. Recently we have shown that cyano anions in ionic liquids are particularly interesting for their potential use as electron donors to excited state photo-acceptors [B. Wu et al., J. Phys. Chem. B 119, 14790–14799 (2015)]. Here we report on bulk structural and quantum mechanical results for a series of ionic liquids based on the 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium cation, paired with the following five cyano anions: SeCN-, SCN-, N(CN)-2N(CN)2-, C(CN)-3C(CN)3-, and B(CN)-4B(CN)4-. By combining molecular dynamics simulations, high-energy X-ray scattering measurements, and periodic boundary condition DFT calculations, we are able to obtain a comprehensive description of the liquid landscape as well as the nature of the HOMO-LUMO states for these ionic liquids in the condensed phase. Features in the structure functions for these ionic liquids are somewhat different than the commonly observed adjacency, charge-charge, and polarity peaks, especially for the bulkiest B(CN)-4B(CN)4- anion. While the other four cyano-anion ionic liquids present an anionic HOMO, the one for Im+2,1Im2,1+/B(CN)-4B(CN)4- is cationic.

Research Organization:
Rutgers Univ., Piscataway, NJ (United States); Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences Division; São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP); National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq)
Contributing Organization:
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
SC0001780; SC0008644; AC02-06CH11357
OSTI ID:
1351355
Journal Information:
Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 145, Issue 2; ISSN 0021-9606
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
ENGLISH

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Electron spectroscopy of ionic liquids: experimental identification of atomic orbital contributions to valence electronic structure journal January 2019
Valence electronic structure of [EMIM][B(CN) 4 ]: ion-pair vs. bulk description journal January 2019
Structure of ionic liquids with cationic silicon-substitutions journal September 2016
Microstructures and dynamics of tetraalkylphosphonium chloride ionic liquids journal December 2017
Structural analysis of zwitterionic liquids vs. homologous ionic liquids journal January 2018
Structural analysis of ionic liquids with symmetric and asymmetric fluorinated anions journal August 2019
Microstructures and Dynamics of Tetraalkylphosphonium Chloride Ionic Liquids text January 2017
Relationship between the Relaxation of Ionic Liquid Structural Motifs and That of the Shear Viscosity journal June 2021

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