Mohammad Kazemi M, Namboodiri M, Donfack P, Materny A, Kerlé D, Rathke B, Kiefer J. Influence of the alkyl side-chain length on the ultrafast vibrational dynamics of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide (C
nmimNTf
2) ionic liquids.
Phys Chem Chem Phys 2017;
19:15988-15995. [PMID:
28594004 DOI:
10.1039/c7cp02686b]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Probing the vibrational dynamics of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide (CnmimNTf2) ionic liquids (ILs) using femtosecond time-resolved coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (fs-CARS) has indicated the ultrafast vibrational energy transfer between counter ions which is governed by interionic interactions and facilitated by hydrogen bonds. In this study, fs-CARS is used to investigate the ultrafast dynamics of the vibrational modes of the CnmimNTf2 ILs with n = 6, 8, 10, and 12 in a spectral region, which involves the imidazolium ring and the alkyl side-chain vibrations. The vibrational Raman modes with wavenumbers around 1418 cm-1 are excited through the CARS process and the ultrafast time evolution of the consequently excited vibrational modes is monitored. The investigation of the life times of the fs-CARS transient signals indicates that the time scale of the dynamics becomes much faster when the alkyl side-chain length of the CnmimNTf2 is longer than n = 8. This observation suggests an increase in the hydrogen bonding interactions due to the nano-structuring of the ionic liquids, which became evident with an increasing length of the alkyl side-chain. This behavior is also found in molecular dynamics simulations. There, an increase of the oxygen density around the C(2)-H moiety of the imidazolium ring, which is the predominant site for hydrogen bond formation, is observed. In other words, the longer the alkyl side-chain, the more reorganization of the ionic liquid into polar and non-polar domains occurs and the higher the probability of finding interionic hydrogen bonds at the C(2)-H position becomes.
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