Modeling of the Carbon Dioxide Solubility in Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquids with the tPC-PSAFT Equation of State

A modeling approach for estimating hydrogen sulfide solubility in fifteen different imidazole-based ionic liquids

Absorption has always been an attractive process for removing hydrogen sulfide (H₂S). Posing unique properties and promising removal capacity, ionic liquids (ILs) are potential media for H₂S capture. Engineering design of such absorption process needs accurate measurements or reliable estimation of the H₂S solubility in ILs. Since experimental measurements are time-consuming and expensive, this study utilizes machine learning methods to monitor H₂S solubility in fifteen various ILs accurately. Six robust machine learning methods, including adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system, least-squares support vector machine (LS-SVM), radial basis function, cascade, multilayer perceptron, and generalized regression neural networks, are implemented/compared. A vast experimental databank comprising 792 datasets was utilized. Temperature, pressure, acentric factor, critical pressure, and critical temperature of investigated ILs are the affecting parameters of our models. Sensitivity and statistical error analysis were utilized to assess the performance and accuracy of the proposed models. The calculated solubility data and the derived models were validated using seven statistical criteria. The obtained results showed that the LS-SVM accurately predicts H₂S solubility in ILs and possesses R², RMSE, MSE, RRSE, RAE, MAE, and AARD of 0.99798, 0.01079, 0.00012, 6.35%, 4.35%, 0.0060, and 4.03, respectively. It was found that the H₂S solubility adversely relates to the temperature and directly depends on the pressure. Furthermore, the combination of OMIM⁺ and Tf₂N^-, i.e., [OMIM][Tf₂N] ionic liquid, is the best choice for H₂S capture among the investigated absorbents. The H₂S solubility in this ionic liquid can reach more than 0.8 in terms of mole fraction.

Intramolecular Vibrational Energy Relaxation of CO2 in Cross-Linked Poly(ethylene glycol) Diacrylate-Based Ion Gels

Ultrafast two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy (2D-IR) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to measure carbon dioxide (CO₂) in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([emim][Tf₂N]), cross-linked low-molecular-weight poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA), and an ion gel composed of a 50 vol % blend of the two. The center frequency of the antisymmetric stretch, ν₃, of CO₂ shifts monotonically to lower wavenumbers with increasing polymer content, with the largest line width in the ion gel (6 cm^-1). Increasing polymer content slows both spectral diffusion and vibrational energy relaxation (VER) rates. An unexpected excited-state absorbance peak appears in the 2D-IR of cross-linked PEGDA due to VER from the antisymmetric stretch into the bending mode, ν₂. Thirty-two response functions are necessary to describe the observed features in the 2D-IR spectra. Nonlinear least-squares fitting extracts both spectral diffusion and VER rates. In the ion gel, CO₂ exhibits spectral diffusion dynamics that lie between that of the pure compounds. The kinetics of VER reflect both fast excitation and de-excitation of the bending mode, similar to the ionic liquid (IL), and slow overall vibrational population relaxation, similar to the cross-linked polymer. The IL-like and polymer-like dynamics suggest that the CO₂ resides at the interface of the two components in the ion gel.

Acidic Gases Solubility in Bis(2-Ethylhexyl) Sulfosuccinate Based Ionic Liquids Using the Predictive Thermodynamic Model

To properly design ionic liquids (ILs) adopted for gases separation uses, a knowledge of ILs thermodynamic properties as well their solubilities with the gases is essential. In the present article, solubilities of CO₂ and H₂S in bis(2-Ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate based ILs were predicted using the conductor like screening model for real solvents COSMO-RS. According to COSMO-RS calculations, the influence of the cation change was extensively analyzed. The obtained data are used for the prediction of adequate solvent candidates. Moreover, to understand the intrinsic behavior of gases solubility the free volume of the chosen ILs and their molecular interactions with respectively CO₂ and H₂S were computed. The results suggest that hydrogen bonding interactions in ILs and between ILs and the gases have a pivotal influence on the solubility.

Modeling solubility of CO2 gas in room temperature ionic liquids using the COSMOSAC-LANL model: a first principles study

In this paper we present a thermodynamic model for asymmetric solutions with a special emphasis on solute-solvent interactions. The new "COSMOSAC-LANL" activity coefficient model is rooted in first principles calculations based on the COSMO model where the microscopic information passes to the macroscopic world via a dielectric continuum solvation model followed by a post statistical thermodynamic treatment of self-consistent properties of the solute particle. To model the activity coefficient at infinite dilution for the binary mixtures, a 3-suffix Margules (3sM) function is introduced to model asymmetric interactions and, for the combinatorial term, the Staverman-Guggenheim (SG) form is used. The new "COSMOSAC-LANL" activity coefficient model has been used to calculate the solubility of CO₂ in room temperature ionic liquids and to model the selectivity between CO₂ and CH₄ gases. We have shown improved solubility and selectivity prediction of CO₂ and CH₄ gas in room temperature ionic liquids using the ADF-COSMOSAC-2013 model with the new "LANL" activity coefficient model. The calculated values have been compared with experimental results where they are available.

Molecular simulation as a computational pharmaceutics tool to predict drug solubility, solubilization processes and partitioning

In this review we will discuss how computational methods, and in particular classical molecular dynamics simulations, can be used to calculate solubility of pharmaceutically relevant molecules and systems. To the extent possible, we focus on the non-technical details of these calculations, and try to show also the added value of a more thorough and detailed understanding of the solubilization process obtained by using computational simulations. Although the main focus is on classical molecular dynamics simulations, we also provide the reader with some insights into other computational techniques, such as the COSMO-method, and also discuss Flory-Huggins theory and solubility parameters. We hope that this review will serve as a valuable starting point for any pharmaceutical researcher, who has not yet fully explored the possibilities offered by computational approaches to solubility calculations.

Thermodynamic properties of selenoether-functionalized ionic liquids and their use for the synthesis of zinc selenide nanoparticles

Three selenoether-functionalized ionic liquids (ILs) of N-[(phenylseleno)methylene]pyridinium (1), N-(methyl)- (2) and N-(butyl)-N'-[(phenylseleno)methylene]imidazolium (3) with bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide anions ([NTf2]) were prepared from pyridine, N-methylimidazole and N-butylimidazole with in situ obtained phenylselenomethyl chloride, followed by ion exchange to give the desired compounds. The crystal structures of the bromide and tetraphenylborate salts of the above cations (1-Br, 2-BPh4 and 3-BPh4) confirm the formation of the desired cations and indicate a multitude of different supramolecular interactions besides the dominating Coulomb interactions between the cations and anions. The vaporization enthalpies of the synthesized [NTf2]-containing ILs were determined by means of a quartz-crystal microbalance method (QCM) and their densities were measured with an oscillating U-tube. These thermodynamic data have been used to develop a method for assessment of miscibility of conventional solvents in the selenium-containing ILs by using Hildebrandt solubility parameters, as well as for modeling with the electrolyte perturbed-chain statistical associating fluid theory (ePC-SAFT) method. Furthermore, structure-property relations between selenoether-functionalized and similarly shaped corresponding aryl-substituted imidazolium- and pyridinium-based ILs were analyzed and showed that the contribution of the selenium moiety to the enthalpy of vaporization of an IL is equal to the contribution of a methylene (CH2) group. An incremental approach to predict vaporization enthalpies of ILs by a group contribution method has been developed. The reaction of these ILs with zinc acetate dihydrate under microwave irradiation led to ZnSe nanoparticles of an average diameter between 4 and 10 nm, depending on the reaction conditions.

Quasi-Chemical PC-SAFT: An Extended Perturbed Chain-Statistical Associating Fluid Theory for Lattice-Fluid Mixtures

In this study, a new modification of the perturbed chain-statistical associating fluid theory (PC-SAFT) has been proposed by incorporating the lattice fluid theory of Guggenheim as an additional term to the original PC-SAFT terms. As the proposed model has one more term than the PC-SAFT, a new mixing rule has been developed especially for the new additional term, while for the conventional terms of the PC-SAFT, the one-fluid mixing rule is used. In order to evaluate the proposed model, the vapor-liquid equilibria were estimated for binary CO₂ mixtures with 16 different ionic liquids (ILs) of the 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium family with various anions consisting of bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide, hexafluorophosphate, tetrafluoroborate, and trifluoromethanesulfonate. For a comprehensive comparison, three different modes (different adjustable parameters) of the proposed model were compared with the conventional PC-SAFT. Results indicate that the proposed modification of the PC-SAFT EoS is generally more reliable with respect to the conventional PC-SAFT in all the three proposed modes of vapor-liquid equilibria, giving good agreement with literature data.

Molecular thermodynamic modeling of ionic liquids using the perturbation-based linear Yukawa isotherm regularity

In this paper, we present the results of an extensive study on a novel approach to the molecular modeling of pure ionic liquids (ILs) that incorporates the perturbed thermodynamic linear Yukawa isotherm regularity (LYIR), which is derived based on an effective nearest neighboring pair attractive interaction of the Yukawa potential. The LYIR was used to model the densities of ILs up to high pressures (35 MPa) and in the temperature range 293.15 to 393.15 K. To use the LYIR for ILs, a simple molecular model was proposed to describe their molecular structure, in which they were considered as a liquid consisting of the ion pairs moving together in the fluid, and each ion pair was assumed to be a one-center spherical united atom. The ILs under consideration contained one of the IL cations [C2mim](+), [C4mim](+), [C7mim](+), [C8mim](+), [C3mpy](+), [C3mpip](+), [C3mpyr](+) or [C4mpyr](+), and one of the IL anions [BF4](-), [C(CN)3](-), [CF3SO4](-) or [NTf2](-). The reliability and physical significance of the parameters as well as the proposed molecular model were tested by calculating the densities of pure imidazolium-, pyridinium-, piperidinium- and pyrrolidimium-based ILs. The results showed that the LYIR can be used to predict and reproduce the density of ILs in good agreement with the experimental data. In addition, the LYIR enabled us to determine the physical quantities, such as an effective Yukawa screening length, λ eff, the product of the effective energy well depth and the effective coordination number, (ε eff/k)z eff, the contribution of the non-reference thermal pressure and also the influence of the anionic and cationic structure on the λ eff parameter. The standard deviation of the IL densities predicted in this work is lower than those calculated by the one other important equation of state reported in the literature.

Effect of salts on the solubility of ionic liquids in water: experimental and electrolyte Perturbed-Chain Statistical Associating Fluid Theory

Due to scarce available experimental data, as well as due to the absence of predictive models, the influence of salts on the solubility of ionic liquids (ILs) in water is still poorly understood. To this end, this work addresses the solubility of the IL 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([C4C1im][NTf2]), at 298.15 K and 0.1 MPa, in aqueous salt solutions (from 0.1 to 1.5 mol kg(-1)). At salt molalities higher than 0.2 mol kg(-1), all salts caused salting-out of [C4C1im][NTf2] from aqueous solution with their strength decreasing in the following order: Al2(SO4)3 > ZnSO4 > K3C6H5O7 > KNaC4H4O6 > K3PO4 > Mg(CH3CO2)2 > K2HPO4 > MgSO4 > KH2PO4 > KCH3CO2. Some of these salts lead however to the salting-in of [C4C1im][NTf2] in aqueous medium at salt molalities lower than 0.2 mol kg(-1). To attempt the development of a model able to describe the salt effects, comprising both the salting-in and salting-out phenomena observed, the electrolyte Perturbed-Chain Statistical Associating Fluid Theory (ePC-SAFT) was applied using ion-specific parameters. The gathered experimental data was modelled using ePC-SAFT parameters complemented by fitting a single binary parameter between K(+) and the IL-ions to the IL solubility in K3PO4 aqueous solutions. Based on this approach, the description of anion-specific salting-out effects of the remaining potassium salts was found to be in good agreement with experimental data. Remarkably, ePC-SAFT is even able to predict the salting-in effect induced by K2HPO4, based on the single K(+)/IL-ions binary parameter which was fitted to an exclusively salting-out effect promoted by K3PO4. Finally, ePC-SAFT was applied to predict the influence of other sodium salts on the [C4C1im][NTf2] solubility in water, with experimental data taken from literature, leading to an excellent description of the liquid-liquid phase behaviour.

Ionic liquid functionalization – an effective way to tune carbon dioxide adsorption properties of carbon nanotubes

In this research, the influence of non-covalent functionalization by ionic liquids on carbon dioxide (CO₂) adsorption–desorption properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and partially exfoliated MWNTs (PEMWNTs) has been studied.