Application of ionic liquids in ion-selective electrodes and reference electrodes: A review

Ionic liquids (ILs) are organic chemical compounds that are composed only of ions, a large organic cation and a smaller inorganic or organic anion. These are salts whose melting point is lower than the boiling point of water. ILs have many interesting properties, thanks to which they find great practical applications in analytics, electrochemistry, separation techniques, catalysis and others. One of the many areas of application of ionic liquids is sensors especially electrochemical sensors including ion-selective electrodes. In this case, the properties of ILs that are particularly useful include very good electrical conductivity, high electrochemical stability, good extraction properties, hydrophobic character and compatibility with other materials, e. g. polyvinyl chloride plasticizers or carbon nanomaterials. ILs were used as components of ion-selective membranes, both polymeric ones based on PVC and membranes in carbon paste electrodes. ILs performed various functions in these membranes, including lipophilic ionic additive, ionophore/ion exchanger, plasticizer, transducer media and matrix. They were also used as a component of the intermediate layer in solid contact ISEs. The last chapter presents examples of the use of ILs in reference electrodes. This review discusses the use of ionic liquids in ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) and reference electrodes over the last ten years.

Recent advances in subphthalocyanines and related subporphyrinoids

Subporphyrinoids constitute a class of extremely versatile and attractive compounds. Herein, a comprehensive review of the most recent advances in the fundamentals and applications of these cone-shaped aromatic macrocycles is presented.

Synthesis, Characterization and Optoelectronic Property of Axial-Substituted Subphthalocyanines

Two novel substituted subphthalocyanines have been prepared introducing m-hydroxybenzoic acid and m-hydroxyphenylacetic acid into the axial position of bromo-subphthalocyanine. The compounds have been characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and single-crystal X-rays diffraction (XRD) methods. Their photophysical properties show that the axial substitution results into a relatively higher fluorescence quantum efficiency (ΦF=5.74 for m-hydroxybenzoic acid and 9.09 % for m-hydroxyphenylacetic acid) in comparison with that of the prototype compound, despite the almost negligible influence on the maximum absorption or the emission position. Moreover, the electrochemical behaviors show that the axial-substituted subphthalocyanines also exhibit enhanced specific capacitances of 395 F/g (m-hydroxybenzoic acid) and 362 F/g (m-hydroxyphenylacetic acid) compared with 342 F/g (the prototype) to the largest capacitance at the scan rate of 5 mV/s, and the significantly larger capacitance retentions of 83.6 % and 82.1 % versus 37.3 % upon density up to 3 A/g. These results show the potential of these axial-substituted subphthalocyanines in the use as organic photovoltaics and supercapacitors.