ABSTRACT
We have prepared novel divalent ionic liquids (ILs) based on the bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide anion where two charged imidazolium groups in the cations are either directly bound to each other or linked by a single atom. We assessed the influence of the side-chain functionality and divalency on their physical properties and on the thermodynamics of mixing. The results indicate that shortening the spacer of a divalent IL reduces its thermal stability and increases its viscosity. Mixtures of divalent and monovalent ILs show small but significant deviations from ideality upon mixing. These deviations appear to depend primarily on the (mis)match of the nature and length of the cation side-chain. The non-ideality imposed by mixing ILs with different side-chains appears to be enhanced by the increase in formal charge of the cations in the mixture.
ABSTRACT
After studying the properties of a mixture of hydrogenated and fluorinated ionic liquids we have measured the solubility of perfluoromethane, perfluoroethane and perfluoropropane in 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium based ionic liquids with hydrogenated or fluorinated alkyl side-chains: 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium bis[trifluoromethylsulfonyl]amide ([C8C1Im][NTf2]), 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium bis[pentafluoroethylsulfonyl]amide ([C8C1Im][BETI]), 1-(3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,8-tridecafluorooctyl)-3-methylimidazolium bis[trifluoromethylsulfonyl]amide ([C8H4F13C1Im][NTf2]), and 1-(3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,8-tridecafluorooctyl)-3-methylimidazolium bis[pentafluoroethylsulfonyl]amide ([C8H4F13C1Im][BETI]). The ionic liquids expand on mixing and mix endothermally with a relatively high enthalpy of mixing (ΔmixH for [C8C1Im]x[C8H4F13C1Im](1-x)[NTf2] of ca. 0.85 kJ mol-1 for x = 0.5) when compared with other ionic mixtures. The solubility of the perfluorinated gases is larger in the fluorinated ionic liquids when compared with that of their hydrogenated counterparts and follows the order [C8H4F13C1Im][BETI] > [C8H4F13C1Im][NTf2] > [C8C1Im][BETI] > [C8C1Im][NTf2], a behaviour explained by a slightly more favourable enthalpy of solvation. The fluorinated ionic liquids nevertheless do not dissolve larger quantities of perfluorinated gases than their hydrogenated equivalents, as observed by comparing the results herein for perfluoroethane to those measured previously for ethane in the same ionic liquids. By using molecular simulations to study the microscopic structure of the solutions, we could show that the gases, hydrogenated and fluorinated, are always preferentially solvated in the apolar domains of the ionic liquids, and the hydrogenated hydrocarbon gases are always more soluble, independent of the fluorination of the ionic liquid.
ABSTRACT
Porous liquids can be prepared from the dispersion metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) in ionic liquids (ILs). Porous liquids prepared from 5 % of ZIF-8 in a phosphonium-based ionic liquid are capable of absorbing reversibly up to 150 % more nitrogen and 100 % more methane than the pure ionic liquid.
ABSTRACT
Porous solids such as zeolites and metal-organic frameworks are useful in molecular separation and in catalysis, but their solid nature can impose limitations. For example, liquid solvents, rather than porous solids, are the most mature technology for post-combustion capture of carbon dioxide because liquid circulation systems are more easily retrofitted to existing plants. Solid porous adsorbents offer major benefits, such as lower energy penalties in adsorption-desorption cycles, but they are difficult to implement in conventional flow processes. Materials that combine the properties of fluidity and permanent porosity could therefore offer technological advantages, but permanent porosity is not associated with conventional liquids. Here we report free-flowing liquids whose bulk properties are determined by their permanent porosity. To achieve this, we designed cage molecules that provide a well-defined pore space and that are highly soluble in solvents whose molecules are too large to enter the pores. The concentration of unoccupied cages can thus be around 500 times greater than in other molecular solutions that contain cavities, resulting in a marked change in bulk properties, such as an eightfold increase in the solubility of methane gas. Our results provide the basis for development of a new class of functional porous materials for chemical processes, and we present a one-step, multigram scale-up route for highly soluble 'scrambled' porous cages prepared from a mixture of commercially available reagents. The unifying design principle for these materials is the avoidance of functional groups that can penetrate into the molecular cage cavities.
ABSTRACT
The solubility of n-butane and 2-methylpropane (isobutane) in three ionic liquids - 1-(2-methylpropyl)-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [(2mC3)C1im][Ntf2], 1-(3-methylbutyl)-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [(3mC4)C1im][Ntf2] and 1-methyl-3-pentylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [C5C1im][Ntf2] - has been measured at atmospheric pressure from 303 to 343 K. Isobutane is less soluble than n-butane in all the ionic liquids. Henry's constant values range from 13.8 × 10(5) Pa for n-butane in [C5C1im][Ntf2] at 303 K to 64.5 × 10(5) Pa for isobutane in [(2mC3)C1im][Ntf2] at 343 K. The difference in solubility between the two gases can be explained by a more negative enthalpy of solvation for n-butane. A structural analysis of the pure solvents and of the solutions of the gases, probed by molecular dynamics simulations, could explain the differences found in the systems: (i) the nonpolar domains of the ionic liquids accommodate better the long and more flexible n-butane solute; (ii) the small differences in solubility of each gas in the ionic liquids with the same number of carbon atoms in the alkyl side-chains are explained by the absence of large structural differences in the pure solvents. In all cases, the structural analysis of the four ionic liquids confirms that the studied gases can act as probes of the molecular structure of the ionic liquids, the simulations being always compatible with the experimental solubility data.
ABSTRACT
We present a study on the phase equilibrium behaviour of binary mixtures containing two 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium bis{(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl}imide-based ionic liquids, [C(n)mim] [NTf(2)] (n=2 and 4), mixed with diethylamine or triethylamine as a function of temperature and composition using different experimental techniques. Based on this work, two systems showing an LCST and one system with a possible hourglass shape are measured. Their phase behaviours are then correlated and predicted by using Flory-Huggins equations and the UNIQUAC method implemented in Aspen. The potential of the COSMO-RS methodology to predict the phase equilibria was also tested for the binary systems studied. However, this methodology is unable to predict the trends obtained experimentally, limiting its use for systems involving amines in ionic liquids. The liquid-state structure of the binary mixture ([C(2)mim] [NTf(2)]+diethylamine) is also investigated by molecular dynamics simulation and neutron diffraction. Finally, the absorption of gaseous ethane by the ([C(2)mim][NTf(2)]+diethylamine) binary mixture is determined and compared with that observed in the pure solvents.
ABSTRACT
In this work, we have studied the solubility and the thermodynamic properties of solvation, between 298 and 343 K and at pressures close to atmospheric, of ethane and n-butane in several ionic liquids based on the bis[(trifluoromethyl) sulfonyl]imide anion and on 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium cations, [CnC1Im] [NTf2], with alkyl side-chains varying from two to ten carbon atoms. The solubility of butane is circa one order of magnitude larger than that of ethane with mole fractions as high as 0.15 in [C10C1Im][NTf2] at 300 K. The solubilities of both n-butane and ethane gases are higher for ionic liquids with longer alkyl chains. The behaviour encountered is explained by the preferential solvation of the gases in the non-polar domains of the solvents, the larger solubility of n-butane being attributed to the dispersive contributions to the interaction energy. The rise in solubility with increasing size of the alkyl-side chain is explained by a more favourable entropy of solvation in the ionic liquids with larger cations. These conclusions are corroborated by molecular dynamics simulation studies.
