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Effect of Cosolvent on Bulk and Interfacial Characteristics of Imidazolium Based Room Temperature Ionic Liquids

Impact of Cosolvent on Physciochemical Characteristics of Ionic Liquids

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Abstract

Here we report a systematic study on electrical conductivity and surface tension of various concentrated solutions of imidazolium based room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs), viz. 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIM][\(\hbox {PF}_{6}\)]) and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([BMIM][\(\hbox {BF}_{4}\)]) in the cosolvents methanol and acetonitrile at 298.15 K. The aim of the investigations was to explore the impact of cosolvents on bulk and interfacial characteristics of imidazolium based RTILs. It was observed that both methanol and acetonitrile mix non-ideally with and enhance the transport parameters of the imidazolium based RTILs. An interesting outcome of the presented work is that the investigated RTILs retain their inherent structural characteristics up to a high dilution limit with cosolvent, and this limit is higher in acetonitrile than in methanol as cosolvent. The findings establish that, in comparison to methanol, acetonitrile is a better cosolvent that can be used for enhancing the transport parameters of imidazolium based RTILs for electrochemical and other applications. The results are explained in light of structure-composition-property relations and ion-ion and ion-cosolvent interactions.

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Acknowledgments

MAB thanks Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi, India, for the research Grant No. SR/S1/PC-11/2009.

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  1. Department of Chemistry, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, 190006, India

    Roohi Jan, Ghulam Mohammad Rather & Mohsin Ahmad Bhat

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  1. Roohi Jan
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Correspondence to Mohsin Ahmad Bhat.

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Jan, R., Rather, G.M. & Bhat, M.A. Effect of Cosolvent on Bulk and Interfacial Characteristics of Imidazolium Based Room Temperature Ionic Liquids. J Solution Chem 43, 685–695 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10953-014-0165-4

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