Leier J, Michenfelder NC, Unterreiner A. Understanding the Photoexcitation of Room Temperature Ionic Liquids.
ChemistryOpen 2021;
10:72-82. [PMID:
33565733 PMCID:
PMC7874249 DOI:
10.1002/open.202000278]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2020] [Revised: 10/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Photoexcitation of (neat) room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) leads to the observation of transient species that are reminiscent of the composition of the RTILs themselves. In this minireview, we summarize state-of-the-art in the understanding of the underlying elementary processes. By varying the anion or cation, one aim is to generally predict radiation-induced chemistry and physics of RTILs. One major task is to address the fate of excess electrons (and holes) after photoexcitation, which implies an overview of various formation mechanisms considering structural and dynamical aspects. Therefore, transient studies on time scales from femtoseconds to microseconds can greatly help to elucidate the most relevant steps after photoexcitation. Sometimes, radiation may eventually result in destruction of the RTILs making photostability another important issue to be discussed. Finally, characteristic heterogeneities can be associated with specific physicochemical properties. Influencing these properties by adding conventional solvents, like water, can open a wide field of application, which is briefly summarized.
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