Phase behavior and ionic conductivity in lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide-doped ionic liquids of the pyrrolidinium cation and Bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide anion.

The phase behavior and the ionic conductivity of ionic liquids (ILs) of the N-alkyl-N-alkylpyrrolidinium (PYR(xy)) cation and the bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (TFSI) anion are investigated upon addition of LiTFSI salt. We compare the case of two new ILs of the PYR(2y) cation (where 2 is ethyl and y is butyl or propyl) with that of the PYR(14) (where 1 is methyl and 4 is butyl). We find that the addition of LiTFSI increases the glass transition temperature, decreases the melting temperature and the heat of fusion and, in the ILs of the PYR(2y) family, suppresses crystallization. In the solid state, significant ionic conductivities are found, being as high as 10(-5) S cm(-1), strongly increasing with Li(+) concentration. The opposite trend is found in the liquid state, where the conductivity is on the order of 10(-3)-10(-2) S cm(-1) at room temperature. A T(g)-scaled Arrhenius plot shows that the liquid-state ionic conductivity in these systems is mainly governed by viscosity and that the fragility of the liquids is slightly influenced by the structural modifications on the cation.

Physical properties of proton conducting membranes based on a protic ionic liquid.

We have investigated the physical properties of proton conducting polymer membranes based on a protic ionic liquid (IL). Properties such as ionic conductivity, melting point of the polymer phase, and glass transition temperature of the liquid phase are studied as a function of IL/polymer ratio and temperature. We observe an increased thermomechanical stability of the membrane with increasing polymer content. However, there is a concomitant decrease in the conductivity with increasing polymer content. This decrease is larger than what can be expected from the dilution of the conducting IL by the insulating polymer matrix. The origin of this decrease can be caused both by the morphology of the membrane and by interactions between the polymer matrix and the ionic liquid. We find a change in the glass transition temperature and in the temperature dependence of the conductivity with increasing polymer content. Both effects can be related to the physical confinement of the IL in the polymer membrane.

New types of Brönsted acid-base ionic liquids-based membranes for applications in PEMFCs.

A series of ionic liquids (ILs) are prepared by neutralizing tertiary amines with N,N-bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (HTFSI). As demonstrated by thermal and electrochemical characterizations, these ILs have very good temperature stability and a high ionic conductivity, that is, of the order of 10(-2) S cm-1. By incorporating these ILs into a poly(vinylidenfluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) polymer matrix, membranes with a high melting temperature, high decomposition point and with an ionic conductivity of about 10(-2) S cm-1 at 140 degrees C, are obtained. These IL-based, proton-conducting membranes are proposed as new polymer electrolytes for high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs).