Deprotonation and oligomerization in photo-, radiolytically and electrochemically induced redox reactions in hydrophobic alkylalkylimidazolium ionic liquids.
Radical chemistry initiated by one-electron reduction of 1-methyl-3-alkylimidazolium cations in the corresponding ionic liquids (ILs) is examined. The reaction scheme is examined in light of the recent experimental data on photo-, radiation-, and electrochemically induced degradation of the practically important hydrophobic alkylimidazolium ILs. It is suggested that the primary species leading to the formation of the oligomers and acidification of the IL is a {sigma}{sigma}* dimer radical cation that loses a proton, yielding a neutral radical whose subsequent reactions produce C(2)-C(2) linked oligomers, both neutral and charged. The neutral oligomers (up to the tetramer) account for the features observed inmore »