Solvents and Solvent Effects: An Introduction

Applications of Ionic Liquids in Electrochemical Sensors and Biosensors

Ionic liquids (ILs) are salt that exist in the liquid phase at and around 298 K and are comprised of a bulky, asymmetric organic cation and the anion usually inorganic ion but some ILs also with organic anion. ILs have attracted much attention as a replacement for traditional organic solvents as they possess many attractive properties. Among these properties, intrinsic ion conductivity, low volatility, high chemical and thermal stability, low combustibility, and wide electrochemical windows are few. Due to negligible or nonzero volatility of these solvents, they are considered “greener” for the environment as they do not evaporate like volatile organic compounds (VOCs). ILs have been widely used in electrodeposition, electrosynthesis, electrocatalysis, electrochemical capacitor, lubricants, plasticizers, solvent, lithium batteries, solvents to manufacture nanomaterials, extraction, gas absorption agents, and so forth. Besides a brief discussion of the introduction, history, and properties of ILs the major purpose of this review paper is to provide an overview on the advantages of ILs for the synthesis of conducting polymer and nanoparticle when compared to conventional media and also to focus on the electrochemical sensors and biosensors based on IL/composite modified macrodisk electrodes. Subsequently, recent developments and major strategies for enhancing sensing performance are discussed.

Effects of homogeneous media, binary mixtures and microheterogeneous media on the fluorescence and fluorescence probe properties of some benzo[b][1,8]naphthyridiens with HSA and BSA

A rapid and efficient method for the synthesis of various poly-substituted benzo[b][1,8]naphthyridines in high yield has been developed via the Friedländer condensation of 2-aminoquinoline-3-carbaldehyde 1 with various alicyclic ketones in a base catalyst (aq. potassium hydroxide). A series of benzo[b][1,8]naphthyridines branched with various side-chains and substituents were prepared with the aim of being investigated as a fluorescent agents. Electronic absorption and fluorescence properties of some representative benzonaphthyridines (3d, 5b and 21f) in homogeneous organic solvents, dioxane-water binary mixtures and in the microheterogeneous media (sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and Triton-X100 micelles) have been examined. A linear correlation between solvent polarity and fluorescence properties was observed. Further, the interaction of these benzonaphthyridines (3d, 5b and 21f) with human serum albumin (HSA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) in phosphate buffer have been examined by UV-vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. The fluorescence intensity of 3d, 5b and 21f increases with the increasing HSA and BSA concentration. These benzonaphthyridines also quench the 345 nm fluorescence of BSA in phosphate buffer (λ(ex) 280 nm). These compounds have potential for use as neutral and hydrophobic fluorescence probes for examining the microenvironments in proteins, polymers, micelles, etc.

A fluorescence and fluorescence probe study of benzonaphthyridines

A series of benzo[b][1,8]naphthyridines has been synthesized by Friedländer condensation of 2-aminoquinoline-3-carbaldehyde 1 (o-aminoaldehyde) with alicyclic ketones in basic medium. Benzonaphthyridines branched with various side-chains and substituents are prepared with the aim of being investigated as a good fluorescent material. Electronic absorption and fluorescence properties of some representative benzonaphthyridines in organic solvents, water-dioxane, and SDS, CTAB and Triton-X-100 micelles have been examined. The linear correlation between solvent polarity and fluorescence properties is observed. This study may provide new directions for the development of fluorescence probes as reporters of microenvironments of organized assemblies.

Oligoether carboxylates: task-specific room-temperature ionic liquids

Recently, a new family of ionic liquids based on oligoether carboxylates was introduced. 2,5,8,11-Tetraoxatridecan-13-oate (TOTO) was shown to form room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) even with small alkali ions such as lithium and sodium. However, the alkali TOTO salts suffer from their extremely high viscosities and relatively low conductivities. Therefore, we replaced the alkali cations by tetraalkylammonium (TAA) ions and studied the TOTO salts of tetraethyl- (TEA), tetrapropyl- (TPA), and tetrabutylammonium (TBA). In addition, the environmentally benign quaternary ammonium ion choline (Ch) was included in the series. All salts were found to be ionic liquids at ambient temperatures with a glass transition typically at around -60 °C. Viscosities, conductivities, solvent polarities, and Kamlet-Taft parameters were determined as a function of temperature. When using quaternary ammonium ions, the viscosities of the resulting TOTO ionic liquids are >600 times lower, whereas conductivities increase by a factor of up to 1000 compared with their alkali counterparts. Solvent polarities further reveal that choline and TAA cations yield TOTO ionic liquids that are more polar than those obtained with the, per se, highly polar sodium ion. Results are discussed in terms of ion-pairing and structure-breaking concepts with regard to a possible complexation ability of the TOTO anion.

Anisotropic solvent model of the lipid bilayer. 1. Parameterization of long-range electrostatics and first solvation shell effects

A new implicit solvation model was developed for calculating free energies of transfer of molecules from water to any solvent with defined bulk properties. The transfer energy was calculated as a sum of the first solvation shell energy and the long-range electrostatic contribution. The first term was proportional to solvent accessible surface area and solvation parameters (σ(i)) for different atom types. The electrostatic term was computed as a product of group dipole moments and dipolar solvation parameter (η) for neutral molecules or using a modified Born equation for ions. The regression coefficients in linear dependencies of solvation parameters σ(i) and η on dielectric constant, solvatochromic polarizability parameter π*, and hydrogen-bonding donor and acceptor capacities of solvents were optimized using 1269 experimental transfer energies from 19 organic solvents to water. The root-mean-square errors for neutral compounds and ions were 0.82 and 1.61 kcal/mol, respectively. Quantification of energy components demonstrates the dominant roles of hydrophobic effect for nonpolar atoms and of hydrogen-bonding for polar atoms. The estimated first solvation shell energy outweighs the long-range electrostatics for most compounds including ions. The simplicity and computational efficiency of the model allows its application for modeling of macromolecules in anisotropic environments, such as biological membranes.

Anisotropic solvent model of the lipid bilayer. 2. Energetics of insertion of small molecules, peptides, and proteins in membranes

A new computational approach to calculating binding energies and spatial positions of small molecules, peptides, and proteins in the lipid bilayer has been developed. The method combines an anisotropic solvent representation of the lipid bilayer and universal solvation model, which predicts transfer energies of molecules from water to an arbitrary medium with defined polarity properties. The universal solvation model accounts for hydrophobic, van der Waals, hydrogen-bonding, and electrostatic solute-solvent interactions. The lipid bilayer is represented as a fluid anisotropic environment described by profiles of dielectric constant (ε), solvatochromic dipolarity parameter (π*), and hydrogen bonding acidity and basicity parameters (α and β). The polarity profiles were calculated using published distributions of quasi-molecular segments of lipids determined by neutron and X-ray scattering for DOPC bilayer and spin-labeling data that define concentration of water in the lipid acyl chain region. The model also accounts for the preferential solvation of charges and polar groups by water and includes the effect of the hydrophobic mismatch for transmembrane proteins. The method was tested on calculations of binding energies and preferential positions in membranes for small-molecules, peptides and peripheral membrane proteins that have been experimentally studied. The new theoretical approach was implemented in a new version (2.0) of our PPM program and applied for the large-scale calculations of spatial positions in membranes of more than 1000 peripheral and integral proteins. The results of calculations are deposited in the updated OPM database ( http://opm.phar.umich.edu ).

Solvent dependence of structure, charge distribution, and absorption spectrum in the photochromic merocyanine-spiropyran pair

We have studied the structures and absorption spectra of merocyanine, the photoresponsive isomer of the spiropyran (SP)-merocyanine (MC) pair, in chloroform and in water solvents using a combined hybrid QM/MM Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics (CP-QM/MM) and ZINDO approach. We report remarkable differences in the molecular structure and charge distribution of MC between the two solvents; the molecular structure of MC remains in neutral form in chloroform while it becomes charge-separated, zwitterionic, in water. The dipole moment of MC in water is about 50% larger than in chloroform, while the value for SP in water is in between, suggesting that the solvent is more influential than the conformation itself in deciding the dipole moment for the merocyanine-spiropyran pair. The calculations could reproduce the experimentally reported blue shift in the absorption spectra of MC when going from the nonpolar to the polar solvent, though the actual value of the absorption maximum is overestimated in chloroform solvent. We find that the CP-QM/MM approach is appropriate for structure modeling of solvatochromic and thermochromic molecules as this approach is able to capture the solvent and thermal-induced structural changes within the solute important for an accurate assessment of the properties.

Merocyanine solvatochromic dyes in the study of synergistic effects in mixtures of chloroform with hydrogen-bond accepting solvents

The molar transition energy (E(T)) polarity values for the solvatochromic probes 2,6-diphenyl-4-(2,4,6-triphenylpyridinium)phenolate (1), 4[(1-methyl-4-(1H)-pyridinylidene)-ethylidene]-2,5-cyclohexadien-1-one (2), and 4-[4-(dimethylamino)styryl]-1-methylpyridinium iodide (3) were collected in binary mixtures comprising chloroform and a hydrogen-bond accepting (HBA) solvent [dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA), acetone or acetonitrile], aiming to investigate the ability of the chlorinated component to act as hydrogen-bond donating (HBD) solvent. Plots of E(T) as a function of X(2), the mole fraction of chloroform, were obtained and the data were analysed to investigate the preferential solvation (PS) of each probe in terms of both solute-solvent and solvent-solvent interactions. For dyes 1 and 2 a strong synergistic behavior was observed for all mixtures studied, indicating that the dyes are preferentially solvated by complexes formed through hydrogen bonding between chloroform and the HBA component in the mixtures. A study of 1 in deuterated chloroform with an HBA component (DMF and DMA) demonstrated that while almost no differences occur with the DMF mixtures, the presence of deuterated chloroform in its mixtures with DMA increases the synergistic effect, suggesting that it interacts more strongly with DMA, making its mixtures more polar. These data were successfully fitted to a model based on solvent-exchange equilibria. The features of the mixtures with dye 3 revealed a very different profile in comparison with the other two dyes, which suggests that in mixtures containing chloroform, the microenvironment of the dye seems to be important in determining the contribution of the structure resonances responsible for the stability of the dye.

Optically tunable intramolecular charge transfer dyes for vacuum deposited bulk heterojunction solar cells

We present the tunability of the photophysical and electrochemical properties of a series of intramolecular charge transfer compounds by facile molecular design and synthesis. The photovoltaic performances based on these sublimable materials and C(60) bulk heterojunction cells are compared and reported. The structural modification of the charge transfer dyes altered not only the electronic properties, but also the morphology of the bulk heterojunction thin films, as revealed by AFM and SEM studies. Addition of PEDOT:PSS between the ITO and the photoactive layer improved the hole injection from the photosensitizer into the anode, and the overall power conversion efficiency is also enhanced.

Pyridinium-N-phenolate betaine dyes as empirical indicators of solvent polarity: Some new findings

Solutions of the zwitterionic betaine dye 2,6-diphenyl-4-(2,4,6-triphenylpyridinium-1-yl)phenolate (hereinafter called standard betaine dye) and its derivatives are solvatochromic, thermochromic, piezochromic, and halochromic. That is, the position of its longest-wavelength intramolecular charge-transfer (CT) absorption band depends on solvent polarity, solution temperature, external pressure, and the type and concentration of salts (ionophores) added to the betaine dye solution. The outstanding large negative solvatochromism of this standard betaine dye has been used to establish UV/vis spectroscopically a comprehensive set of empirical parameters of solvent polarity, called ET(30) resp. ETN values, now known for many molecular and ionic solvents as well as for a great variety of solvent mixtures. This report describes relevant physicochemical properties of this standard betaine dye as well as the definition and some more recent practical applications of these solvent polarity parameters, derived from the standard betaine dye and its derivatives. In particular, the perichromism of the standard betaine dye can be used to study the polarity of microheterogeneous solutions (e.g., micelles and other organized media), surfaces (e.g., silica, alumina, cellulose), glasses (e.g., sol-gel systems), and solids (e.g., polymers), and for the construction of chemical sensors. As extension to solvatochromism, the more general term perichromism describes UV/vis band shifts of chromophore-containing solutes which are caused not only by changes in the surrounding solvent sphere, but also by their embedding in other surroundings such as micelles, vesicles, glasses, polymers, solids, interfaces, and surfaces. Some representative examples for such extended applications of the perichromic standard betaine dye are given.

Protolytic equilibrium in lyophilic nanosized dispersions: Differentiating influence of the pseudophase and salt effects

The so-called apparent ionization constants of various acids (mainly indicator dyes) in versatile organized solutions are analyzed. Aqueous micellar solutions of colloidal surfactants and related lyophilic colloidal systems display a strong differentiating influence on the acidic strength of indicators located in the dispersed pseudophase, i.e., non-uniform changes of pKa on going from water to the given system. This concept allows the influence of such media on acid-base properties of dissolved reagents to be rationalized. It is demonstrated that the differentiating phenomenon is the main reason for limitation of the common electrostatic model of acid-base interactions, and is the principal hindrance to exact evaluations of the interfacial electrical potentials of ionic micelles by means of acid-base indicators. Salt effects, i.e., the influence of supporting electrolytes on the apparent ionization constants of acid-base indicators in the Stern region of ionic micelles, are considered. These salt effects can be conventionally divided into two kinds, namely, general (normal) and special (specific) effects. While the first type adds up to screening of the surface charge, the second one consists in micellar transitions caused by hydrophobic counterions.