Macroscopic and Microscopic Study of 1-Ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium Acetate–Water Mixtures

High Nucleobase-Solubilizing Ability of Low-Viscous Ionic Liquid/Water Mixtures: Measurements and Mechanism

Research on nucleobases has always been on the forefront owing to their ever-increasing demand in the pharmaceutical, agricultural, and other industries. The applications, however, became limited due to their poor solubility in water. Recently, ionic liquids (ILs) have emerged as promising solvents for nucleobase dissolution, as they exhibit >100-fold increased solubility compared to water. But the high viscosity of ILs remains as a bottleneck in the field. Here, by solubility and viscosity measurements, we show that addition of low-to-moderate quantity of water preserves the high solubilizing capacity of ILs, while reducing the viscosity of the solution by several folds. To understand the mechanism of nucleobase dissolution, molecular dynamics simulations were carried out, which showed that at low concentrations water incorporates into the IL-nucleobase network without much perturbing of the nucleobase-IL interactions. At higher concentrations, increasing numbers of IL anion-water hydrogen bonds replace IL-nucleobase interactions, which have been confirmed by (1)H- and (13)C NMR chemical shifts of the IL ions.

Solubility of starch and microcrystalline cellulose in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ionic liquid and solution rheological properties

This study compared the solubility of starch (G50) and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) in an ionic liquid (IL), 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([Emim][OAc]), at different temperatures.

Multi-scale cellulose based new bio-aerogel composites with thermal super-insulating and tunable mechanical properties

Bio-composite aerogels based on bleached cellulose fibers (BCF) and cellulose nanoparticles having various morphological and physico-chemical characteristics are prepared by a freeze-drying technique and characterized. The various composite aerogels obtained were compared to a BCF aerogel used as the reference. Severe changes in the material morphology were observed by SEM and AFM due to a variation of the cellulose nanoparticle properties such as the aspect ratio, the crystalline index and the surface charge density. BCF fibers form a 3D network and they are surrounded by the cellulose nanoparticle thin films inducing a significant reduction of the size of the pores in comparison with a neat BCF based aerogel. BET analyses confirm the appearance of a new organization structure with pores of nanometric sizes. As a consequence, a decrease of the thermal conductivities is observed from 28mWm(-1)K(-1) (BCF aerogel) to 23mWm(-1)K(-1) (bio-composite aerogel), which is below the air conductivity (25mWm(-1)K(-1)). This improvement of the insulation properties for composite materials is more pronounced for aerogels based on cellulose nanoparticles having a low crystalline index and high surface charge (NFC-2h). The significant improvement of their insulation properties allows the bio-composite aerogels to enter the super-insulating materials family. The characteristics of cellulose nanoparticles also influence the mechanical properties of the bio-composite aerogels. A significant improvement of the mechanical properties under compression is obtained by self-organization, yielding a multi-scale architecture of the cellulose nanoparticles in the bio-composite aerogels. In this case, the mechanical property is more dependent on the morphology of the composite aerogel rather than the intrinsic characteristics of the cellulose nanoparticles.

Characterization of the phase behaviour of a novel polymerizable lyotropic ionic liquid crystal

The development of new polymerizable lyotropic liquid crystals (LLCs) utilizing charged amphiphilic molecules such as those based on long chain imidazolium compounds, is a relatively new design direction for producing robust membranes with controllable nano-structures. Here we have developed a novel polymerizable ionic liquid based LLC, 1-hexadecyl-3-methylimidazolium acrylate (C16mimAcr), where the acrylate anion acts as the polymerizable moiety. The phase behaviour of the C16mimAcr upon the addition of water was characterized using small and wide angle X-ray scatterings, differential scanning calorimetry and polarized optical microscopy. We compare the phase behaviour of this new polymerizable LLC to that of the well known LLC chloride analogue, 1-hexadecyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (C16mimCl). We find that the C16mimAcr system has a more complex phase behaviour compared to the C16mimCl system. Additional lyotropic liquid crystalline mesophases such as hexagonal phase (H1) and discontinuous cubic phase (I1) are observed at 20 °C for the acrylate system at 50 and 65 wt% water respectively. The appearance of the hexagonal phase (H1) and discontinuous cubic phase (I1) for the acrylate system is likely due to the strong hydrating nature of the acrylate anion, which increases the head group area. The formation of these additional mesophases seen for the acrylate system, especially the hexagonal phase (H1), coupled with the polymerization functionality offers great potential in the design of advanced membrane materials with selective and anisotropic transport properties.

Simulating the vibrational spectra of ionic liquid systems: 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate and its mixtures

The vibrational spectra of the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate and its mixtures with water and carbon dioxide are calculated using ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, and the results are compared to experimental data. The new implementation of a normal coordinate analysis in the trajectory analyzer TRAVIS is used to assign the experimentally observed bands to specific molecular vibrations. The applied computational approaches prove to be particularly suitable for the modeling of bulk phase effects on vibrational spectra, which are highly important for the discussion of the microscopic structure in systems with a strong dynamic network of intermolecular interactions, such as ionic liquids.

Probing structural patterns of ion association and solvation in mixtures of imidazolium ionic liquids with acetonitrile by means of relative1H and13C NMR chemical shifts

Competition between ion solvation and association in mixtures of imidazolium ionic liquids and molecular solvents can be systematically addressed by the analysis of relative chemical shift variation with mixture composition.

Elucidating the conformational energetics of glucose and cellobiose in ionic liquids

The energetics driving the conformational preference of the ω dihedral of glucose and the φ–ψ dihedrals of cellobiose solvated in imidazolium acetate ionic liquids and water are elucidated and compared.

A new way to interpret perturbation-correlation moving-window two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy: probing the dynamic interaction of ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate to absorb atmospheric water

A rule to interpret perturbation-correlation moving-window two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (PCMW2D) was developed. Compared with Morita's rule, this proposed rule retains the ability to obtain interval features (i.e., monotonicity, concavity, and convexity) and adds the function to quickly and accurately determine both tipping points (i.e., local extrema and inflection points). It could be described as follows: the local extrema and inflection point could be determined by the zero point with an opposite sign on its left and right side in ΠΦ (synchronous PCMW2D) and ΠΨ (asynchronous PCMW2D), respectively. Specifically, a negative left (right) side and a positive right (left) side of point indicates a local minimal (maximal) value. By using the rule to interpret ΠIR (PCMW2D infrared spectroscopy) of 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium acetate [EMIM][Ac]-atmospheric water (H2O) as a function of time, we found that the atmospheric water was absorbed only into the bulk of [EMIM][Ac] before 150 min by hydrogen-bonding interaction, only onto the surface of [EMIM][Ac] after 330 min by van der Waals force, and both to the bulk and surface of [EMIM][Ac] between 150 and 330 min by hydrogen-boding and van der Waals force simultaneously. The proportion of bulk water sorption and surface water sorption to [EMIM][Ac] was about 4 and 96%, respectively.

Divergent trend in density versus viscosity of ionic liquid/water mixtures: a molecular view from guanidinium ionic liquids

Ionic liquids (ILs) have shown great potential in the dissolution and stability of biomolecules when a low-to-moderate quantity of water is added.

The dynamic process of atmospheric water sorption in [BMIM][Ac]: quantifying bulk versus surface sorption and utilizing atmospheric water as a structure probe

The dynamic process of the atmospheric water absorbed in acetate-based ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium acetate ([BMIM][Ac]) within 360 min could be described with three steps by using two-dimensional correlation infrared (IR) spectroscopy technique. In Step 1 (0-120 min), only bulk sorption via hydrogen bonding interaction occurs. In Step 2 (120-320 min), bulk and surface sorption takes place simultaneously via both hydrogen bonding interaction and van der Waals force. In Step 3, from 320 min to steady state, only surface sorption via van der Waals force occurs. Specifically, Step 2 could be divided into three substeps. Most bulk sorption with little surface sorption takes place in Step 2a (120-180 min), comparative bulk and surface sorption happens in Step 2b (180-260 min), and most surface sorption while little bulk sorption occurs in Step 2c (260-320 min). Interestingly, atmospheric water is found for the first time to be able to be used as a probe to detect the chemical structure of [BMIM][Ac]. Results show that one anion is surrounded by three C4,5H molecules and two anions are surrounded by five C2H molecules via hydrogen bonds, which are very susceptible to moisture water especially for the former one. The remaining five anions form a multimer (equilibrating with one dimer and one trimer) via a strong hydrogen bonding interaction, which is not easily affected by the introduction of atmospheric water. The alkyl of the [BMIM][Ac] cation aggregates to some extent by van der Walls force, which is moderately susceptible to the water attack. Furthermore, the proportion of bulk sorption vs surface sorption is quantified as about 70% and 30% within 320 min, 63% and 37% within 360 min, and 11% and 89% until steady-state, respectively.

Molecular dynamics investigation of the vibrational spectroscopy of isolated water in an ionic liquid

Experimental studies examining the structure and dynamics of water in ionic liquids (ILs) have revealed local ion rearrangements that occur an order of magnitude faster than complete randomization of the liquid structure. Simulations of an isolated water molecule embedded in 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium hexafluorophosphate, [bmim][PF6], were performed to shed insight into the nature of these coupled water-ion dynamics. The theoretical calculations of the spectral diffusion dynamics and the infrared absorption spectra of the OD stretch of isolated HOD in [bmim][PF6] agree well with experiment. The infrared absorption line shape of the OD stretch is narrower and blue-shifted in the IL compared to those in aqueous solution. Decomposition of the OD frequency time correlation function revealed that translational motions of the anions dominate the spectral diffusion dynamics.

Diffusion of 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium acetate in glucose, cellobiose, and cellulose solutions

Solutions of glucose, cellobiose and microcrystalline cellulose in the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium ([C2mim][OAc]) have been examined using pulsed-field gradient ¹H NMR. Diffusion coefficients of the cation and anion across the temperature range 20–70 °C have been determined for a range of concentrations (0–15% w/w) of each carbohydrate in [C2mim][OAc]. These systems behave as an “ideal mixture” of free ions and ions that are associated with the carbohydrate molecules. The molar ratio of carbohydrate OH groups to ionic liquid molecules, α, is the key parameter in determining the diffusion coefficients of the ions. Master curves for the diffusion coefficients of cation, anion and their activation energies are generated upon which all our data collapses when plotted against α. Diffusion coefficients are found to follow an Arrhenius type behavior and the difference in translational activation energy between free and associated ions is determined to be 9.3 ± 0.9 kJ/mol.

Molecular interactions in the ionic liquid emim acetate and water binary mixtures probed via NMR spin relaxation and exchange spectroscopy

Interactions of ionic liquids (ILs) with water are of great interest for many potential IL applications.