Characterization of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([Emim][Tf2N])/TX-100/cyclohexane ternary microemulsion: Investigation of photoinduced electron transfer in this RTIL containing microemulsion

Dielectric Depiction of 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium Tetrafluoroborate/1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium 1,4-Bis(2-ethylhexyl) Sulfosuccinate/Benzene Microemulsions: Percolation, Interface Polarization, and Electrical Parameters

Two dielectric relaxations located at approximately 10 and 300 MHz were analyzed in the microemulsion composed of the polar ionic liquid (PIL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([bmim][BF4]), the surface-active ionic liquid (SAIL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium 1,4-bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate ([bmim][AOT]), and benzene. The curve of the dc conductivity vs PIL weight fraction shows two inflection points, namely, 16.69 and 27.90 wt %, which are used to divide the PIL/O, bicontinuous (B.C.), and O/PIL subregions. The critical exponents of percolation u = 0.75, 0.79, and 0.80 are suggested from the scaling dependence of dc conductivity on the PIL weight fraction, together with frequency dependences of both permittivity and loss angle, which all infer that static percolation occurs in the microemulsion. Only one dielectric relaxation at high frequency was observed in the PIL/O subregion, when the concentration increased to the boundary between the PIL/O and B.C. subregions; the second dielectric relaxation appeared at low frequency. The high-frequency relaxation is caused by interfacial polarization. The low-frequency relaxation is attributed to the dipole-oriented polarization of AOT-. When the oil content of the system was reduced, the interface became softer to allow more AOT- to rotate, and the cation shifted from moving around its long axis to rotating along its short axis. The static dielectric constant of [bmim][AOT] was given. The dielectric constants and conductivity of the dispersed and continuous phases in the PIL/O and O/PIL subregions were calculated from the dielectric parameters of high-frequency relaxation.

Bimolecular photoinduced symmetry-breaking charge separation of perylene in solution

Photoinduced symmetry-breaking charge separation (SB-CS) results in the generation of charge carriers through electron transfer between two identical molecules, after photoexcitation of one of them. It is usually studied in systems where the two reacting moieties are covalently linked. Examples of photoinduced bimolecular SB-CS with organic molecules yielding free ions remain scarce due to solubility or aggregation issues at the high concentrations needed to study this diffusion-assisted process. Here we investigate the excited-state dynamics of perylene (Pe) at high concentrations in solvents of varying polarity. Transient absorption spectroscopy on the subnanosecond to microsecond timescales reveal that self-quenching of Pe in the lowest singlet excited state leads to excimer formation in all solvents used. Additionally, bimolecular SB-CS, resulting in the generation of free ions, occurs concurrently to excimer formation in polar media, with a relative efficiency that increases with the polarity of the solvent. Moreover, we show that SB-CS is most efficient in room-temperature ionic liquids due to a charge-shielding effect leading to a larger escape of ions and due to the high viscosity that disfavours excimer formation.

Dielectric analysis of the percolation, interface polarization, and phase behavior of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate/TX-100/triethylamine microemulsions

Structure transitions, interface distinction and electrical parameters of a nonaqueous ionic liquid microemulsion reflected by concentration-dependent frequency domain dielectric spectroscopy.

Nonaqueous Microemulsion in the Bmim Tf2N/Brij 30/ n-Nonane System: Structural Investigation and Application as Gold Nanoparticle Microreactor

Microemulsions based on ionic liquids (ILs) are being increasingly studied in many different areas of physical chemistry because of the attractive properties of ILs. In particular, waterless microemulsions where the IL represents the polar phase can be of interest for those applications that demand the nanosegregation of polar substances, but in which the absence of water is a strict requirement. In this work, we prepared a reverse, nonaqueous microemulsion based on the low-viscosity room-temperature IL, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide , the surfactant Brij 30, and n-nonane. The systems were characterized by dynamic light scattering and small-angle X-ray scattering; the IL/oil microemulsion was further employed as a templating system for the synthesis of gold nanoparticles from hydrogen tetrachloroaurate(III), HAuCl₄, by UV-photoreduction technique.

Ultrafast dynamics of ionic liquids in colloidal dispersion

Ionic liquid (IL)-surfactant complexes have significance both in applications and fundamental research, but their underlying dynamics are not well understood. We apply polarization-controlled two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy (2D-IR) to study the dynamics of [BMIM][SCN]/surfactant/solvent model systems. We examine the effect of the choice of surfactants and solvent, and the IL-to-surfactant ratio (W-value), with a detailed analysis of the orientation and structural dynamics of each system. Different surfactants create very different environments for the entrapped ILs, ranging from a semi-static micro-environment to a fluxional environment that evolves even faster than the bulk IL. The oil-phase also clearly affects the microscopic dynamics. The anisotropy decay for entrapped ILs completes within 10 ps, which is similar to free thiocyanate ion in water, while a significant reorientation-induced spectral diffusion (RISD) effect is observed. The entrapped ionic liquid are highly dynamic for all W-values, and no core-shell structure is observed. We hypothesize that, instead of an ionic liquid-reverse micelle (IL-RM), the microscopic structure of this system is small colloidal dispersions or pairs of IL and surfactants. A detailed analysis of the polarization-controlled 2D-IR spectra of AOT system reveals a potential ion-exchange mechanism.

Towards Understanding the Solvent-Dynamic Control of the Transport and Heterogeneous Electron-Transfer Processes in Ionic Liquids

The impact of temperature-induced changes in solvent dynamics on the diffusion coefficient and standard rate constant k⁰ for heterogeneous electron transfer (ET) of ethylferrocene (EFc) in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIM][PF₆ ]) is investigated. The results are analysed to understand the impact of solvent-dynamic control, solute-solvent interactions and solvent friction on the transport of redox probes and k⁰ . Concentration dependence of the diffusion coefficient of EFc in [BMIM][PF₆ ] is observed. This is attributed to the solute-induced enhancement of the structural organisation of the ionic liquid (IL), which is supported by the concentration-dependent UV/Vis absorption and photoluminescence responses of EFc/[BMIM][PF₆ ] solutions. Similar values of the activation energies for mass transport and ET and a linear relationship between the diffusion coefficient and the heterogeneous ET rate is observed. The ratio between the diffusion coefficient and the heterogeneous rate constant allows a characteristic length L_d , which is temperature-independent, to be introduced. The presented results clearly establish that mass transport and heterogeneous ET of redox probes are strongly correlated in ILs. It is proposed that the apparent kinetics of heterogeneous ET reactions in ILs can be explained in terms of their impact on thermal equilibration, energy dissipation and thermal excitation of redox-active probes.

Determination of Reaction and Reorganization Free Energies of Electron Transfer Reactions under Restricted Geometry Conditions

In this paper, different methods of obtaining the two parameters controlling the rate of electron transfer processes (reaction and reorganization free energies, Λ and Δ G0’, respectively) under restricted geometry conditions are considered. The main difficulty of accomplishing this comes from lack of knowledge of the properties in the interfacial region, where the reaction occurs. A general method has been presented and illustrated with the study of intermolecular processes in micelles. This method is optimized when the free energies for (at least) the three reactions required are quite different. For excited state electron transfer, the general approach is based on the appearance of the so-called Marcus inverted region: at the starting point of this region the value of Δ G0’ gives the value of Λ directly. These reaction free energies also present some uncertainties because in their calculation it is necessary to know the value of the local dielectric constant. Finally, it should be mentioned that some authors have suggested that the treatments for electron transfer reactions could not be applicable under restricted conditions. However, experiments do seem to show the applicability of the Marcus-Hush treatment under these conditions.

A turn-on fluorogenic probe for detection of MDMA from ecstasy tablets

We report a fluorogenic probe that is able to discriminate a range of primary or secondary biogenic amines and their natural or synthetic mimics, in water or buffer, by means of the turn-on transient generation of green fluorescence, with high quantum yields and low detection limits, thus making the system suitable for the detection of abuse drugs, such as MDMA, from ecstasy tablets.