ABSTRACT
The effect on gas solubilities of adding partially fluorinated alkyl side chains either on imidazolium-based cations or on bis(perfluoroalkylsulfonyl)amide anions was studied. The aim was to gain knowledge of the mechanisms of dissolution of gases in fluorinated ionic liquids and, if possible, to improve physical absorption of carbon dioxide in ionic liquids. We have determined experimentally, in the temperature range of 298-343 K and at pressures close to atmospheric pressure, the solubility and thermodynamics of solvation of carbon dioxide, ethane, and nitrogen in the ionic liquids 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium bis[trifluoromethylsulfonyl]amide ([C8mim][NTf2]), 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium bis[pentafluoroethylsulfonyl]amide ([C8mim][BETI]), 1-(3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,8-tridecafluorooctyl)-3-methylimidazolium bis[trifluoromethylsulfonyl]amide ([C8H4F13mim][NTf2]), and 1-(3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,8-tridecafluorooctyl)-3-methylimidazolium bis[pentafluoroethylsulfonyl]amide ([C8H4F13mim][BETI]). Ionic liquids with partial fluorination on the cation were found to exhibit higher carbon dioxide and nitrogen mole fraction solubilities but lower ethane solubilities, compared to those of their hydrogenated counterparts. Molecular simulation provided insights about the mechanisms of solvation of the different gases in the ionic liquids.
ABSTRACT
We measured the densities of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium (C(n)mim, n = 2,4,6) tris(pentafluoroethyl)trifluorophosphate ionic liquids (eFAP) as a function of temperature and pressure and their viscosities as a function of temperature. These ionic liquids are less viscous than those based in the same cations but with other anions such as bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide. The ionic liquids studied are only partially miscible with water, their solubility increasing with the size of the alkyl side-chain of the cation and with temperature (from x(H(2)O) = 0.20 ± 0.03 for [C(4)mim][eFAP] at 303.10 K to x(H(2)O) = 0.49 ± 0.07 for [C(6)mim][eFAP] at 315.10 K). The solubility of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, ethane, and nitrogen in the three ionic liquids was measured as a function of temperature and at pressures close to atmospheric. Carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide are the more soluble gases with mole fraction solubilities of the order of 3 × 10(-2) at 303 K. The solubility of these gases does not increase linearly with the size of the alkyl-side chain of the cation. The solubilities of ethane and nitrogen are much lower than those of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide (mole fractions 60% and 90% lower, respectively). The higher solubility of CO(2) and N(2)O can be explained by more favorable interactions between the solutes and the polar region of the ionic liquids as shown by the enthalpies of solvation determined experimentally and by the calculation of the site-site solute-solvent radial distribution functions using molecular simulation.
ABSTRACT
It is proven in this work that it is possible to significantly increase the carbon dioxide uptake by an ionic liquid relying on physical interactions only. The solubility and thermodynamics of solvation of carbon dioxide in the ionic liquids 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium bis[trifluoromethylsulfonyl]amide [C(8)mim][Ntf(2)], 1-decyl-3-methylimidazolium bis[trifluoromethylsulfonyl]amide [C(10)mim][Ntf(2)], and 1-(3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,8-tridecafluorooctyl)-3-methylimidazolium bis[trifluoromethylsulfonyl]amide [C(8)H(4)F(13)mim][Ntf(2)] were determined experimentally between 298 and 343 K at pressures close to atmospheric. The solubility of carbon dioxide is significantly higher in the fluorine-substituted ionic liquid with Henry's law constants at 303 K of 33.3 and 30.7 bar for [C(8)mim][Ntf(2)] and [C(10)mim][Ntf(2)], respectively, and of 28.0 bar for [C(8)H(4)F(13)mim][Ntf(2)]. Molecular simulation was used for interpreting the molecular mechanisms of solvation of carbon dioxide in the studied ionic liquids and coherent molecular mechanisms of solvation are proposed in light of the solute-solvent radial distribution functions. It is shown that the increase of the size of the hydrogenated or fluorinated alkyl chain in the imidazolium cation does not lead to a steady augmentation of the gaseous uptake by the liquid probably due to an increase of the nonpolar domains of the ionic liquid, carbon dioxide being solvated preferentially in the charged regions of the solvent.
