Designing ionic liquids with boron cluster anions: alkylpyridinium and imidazolium [nido-C(2)B(9)H(11)] and [closo-CB(11)H(12)] carborane salts

A range of new alkylpyridinium and imidazolium carborane salts with [nido-C2B9H12](-), [closo-CB11H12](-), and [RC2B11H11](-) (R = methyl or butyl) anions have been prepared and characterized by physical and thermal methods, including the solid state structures of five of the salts determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The tendency of the salts to form low-melting ionic liquids has been assessed; all the salts studied with [nido-C2B9H12](-) anions melted below 100 degrees C and, significantly, have melting points that are 25-85 degrees C lower than those of the corresponding [closo-CB11H12](-) analogs, demonstrating that a wider range of boron-rich ionic liquid materials can be readily accessed.

Solid-state analysis of low-melting 1,3-dialkylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate salts (ionic liquids) by combined x-ray crystallographic and computational analyses

The interactions of ions in the solid state for a series of representative 1,3-dialkylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate salts (either ionic liquids or closely related) have been examined by crystallographic analysis, combined with the theoretical estimation of crystal-packing densities and lattice-interaction energies. Efficient close-packing of the ions in the crystalline states is observed, but there was no compelling evidence for specific directional hydrogen-bonding to the hexafluorophosphate anions or the formation of interstitial voids. The close-packing efficiency is supported by the theoretical calculation of ion volumes, crystal lattice energies, and packing densities, which correlated well with experimental data. The crystal density of the salts can be predicted accurately from the summation of free ion volumes and lattice energies calculated. Of even more importance for future work, on these and related salts, the solid-state density of 1,3-dialkylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate salts can be predicted with reasonable accuracy purely on the basis of on ab initio free ion volumes, and this allows prediction of lattice energies without necessarily requiring the crystal structures.

Strategies toward the design of energetic ionic liquids: nitro- and nitrile-substituted N,N '-dialkylimidazolium salts

Twelve novel 1,3-dialkylimidazolium salts containing strongly electron-withdrawing nitro-and cyano-functionalities directly appended to the cationic heterocyclic rings have been synthesized; the influences of the substituents on both formation and thermal properties of the resultant ionic liquids have been determined by DSC, TGA, and single crystal X-ray diffraction, showing that an electron-withdrawing nitro-substituent can be successfully appended and has a similar influence on the melting behaviour as that of corresponding methyl group substitution. Synthesis of di-, or trinitro-substituted 1,3-dialkylimidazolium cations was unsuccessful due to the resistance of dinitro-substituted imidazoles to undergo either N-alkylation or protonation, while 1-alkyl- 4,5-dicyanoimidazoles were successfully alkylated to obtain 1,3-dialkyl-4,5-dicyanoimidazolium salts. Five crystal structures ( one of each cation type) show that, in the solid state, the NO2-group has little significant effect, beyond the steric contribution, on the crystal packing.

Prediction of the formation and stabilities of energetic salts and ionic liquids based on ab initio electronic structure calculations

A computational approach to predict the thermodynamics for forming a variety of imidazolium-based salts and ionic liquids from typical starting materials is described. The gas-phase proton and methyl cation acidities of several protonating and methylating agents, as well as the proton and methyl cation affinities of many important methyl-, nitro-, and cyano- substituted imidazoles, have been calculated reliably by using the computationally feasible DFT (B3LYP) and MP2 (extrapolated to the complete basis set limit) methods. These accurately calculated proton and methyl cation affinities of neutrals and anions are used in conjunction with an empirical approach based on molecular volumes to estimate the lattice enthalpies and entropies of ionic liquids, organic solids, and organic liquids. These quantities were used to construct a thermodynamic cycle for salt formation to reliably predict the ability to synthesize a variety of salts including ones with potentially high energetic densities. An adjustment of the gas phase thermodynamic cycle to account for solid- and liquid-phase chemistries provides the best overall assessment of salt formation and stability. This has been applied to imidazoles (the cation to be formed) with alkyl, nitro, and cyano substituents. The proton and methyl cation donors studied were as follows: HCl, HBr, HI, (HO)(2)SO2, HSO3CF3 (TfOH), and HSO3(C6H4)CH3 (TsOH); CH3Cl, CH3Br, CH3I, (CH3O)(2)SO2, CH3SO3CF3 (TfOCH3) and CH3SO3(C6H4)CH3 (TsOCH3). As substitution of the cation with electron-withdrawing groups increases, the triflate reagents appear to be the best overall choice as protonating and methylating agents. Even stronger alkylating agents should be considered to enhance the chances of synthetic success. When using the enthalpies of reaction for the gas-phase reactants (eq 6) to form a salt, a cutoff value of - 13 kcal mol(-1) or lower (more negative) should be used as the minimum value for predicting whether a salt can be synthesized.

Efficient, halide free synthesis of new, low cost ionic liquids: 1,3-dialkylimidazolium salts containing methyl- and ethyl-sulfate anions

New low-cost ionic liquids containing methyl- and ethyl-sulfate anions can be easily and efficiently prepared under ambient conditions by the reaction of 1-alkylimidazoles with dimethyl sulfate and diethyl sulfate. The preparation and characterization of a series of 1,3-dialkylimidazolium alkyl sulfate and 1,2,3-trialkylimidazolium alkyl sulfate salts are reported. 1,3-Dialkylimidazolium salts containing at least one non-methyl N-alkyl substituent are liquids at, or below room, temperature. Three salts were crystalline at room temperature, the single crystal X-ray structure of 1,3-dimethylimidazolium methyl sulfate was determined and shows the formation of discrete ribbons comprising of two anion-cation hydrogen-bonded chains linked via intra-chain hydrogen-bonding, but little, or no inter-ribbon hydrogen-bonding. The salts are stable, water soluble, inherently 'chloride-free', display an electrochemical window of greater than 4 V, and can be used as alternatives to the corresponding halide salts in metathesis reactions to prepare other ionic liquids including 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate.

Crystal structures of imidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide 'ionic liquid' salts: the first organic salt with a cis-TFSI anion conformation

Crystal structures of two examples of an important class of ionic liquids, 1,3-dimethylimidazolium and 1,2,3-triethylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide have been characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The anion in the 1,3-dimethylimidazolium example (mp 22 degreesC), adopts an unusual cis-geometry constrained by bifurcated cation-anion C-H...O hydrogen-bonds from the imidazolium cation to the anion resulting in the formation of fluorous layers within the solid-state structure. In contrast, in the 1,2,3-triethylimidazolium salt (mp 57 degreesC), the ions are discretely packed with only weak C-H...O contacts between the ions close to the van der Waals separation distances, and with the anion adopting the twisted conformation observed for all other examples from the limited set of organic bis( trifluoromethanesulfonyl) imide crystal structures. The structures are discussed in terms of the favorable physical properties that bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl) imide anions impart in ionic liquids.

Alkali-metal salts of aromatic carboxylic acids: Liquid crystals without flexible chains

The alkali-metal salts of meta-substituted benzoic acids exhibit a smectic A mesophase at high temperatures. These compounds are examples of liquid crystals without terminal alkyl chains. The influence of the metal ion and of the type of substituents on the transition temperatures is discussed. Compounds with the substituent in the ortho- and para-positions are non-mesomorphic. The crystal structures of the compounds Rb(C7H4ClO2)(C7H4ClO2H), Na(C7H4IO2)(H2O), K(C7H4ClO2)(C7H4ClO2H) and Rb(C7H4BrO2)(C7H4BrO2H) have been determined by X-ray crystallography. These compounds possess a layerlike structure in the solid state. ((C) Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2005)

Ionic liquid S-alkylthiouronium salts

The prepn. and characterization of a series of ionic liqs. based on S-alkylthiouronium cations prepd. from thiourea, 1,3-dimethylthiourea, 1,3-diethylthiourea and 1,3-tetramethylthiourea coupled with bis{(trifluoromethane)sulfonyl}imide, bromide, methylsulfate or ethylsulfate anions are reported. All are liqs. at room temp. or solids with m.ps. close to room temp., except for the bromide salts, which have m.ps. below 92 °C. Systematic variation in the N- and S-alkyl substituents demonstrates how the phys. properties of these ionic liqs. can be readily controlled. The mutual miscibility limits of representative examples with octane, dodecane and toluene have been detd. as a function of temp., and the extn. of dibenzothiophene from dodecane as a model for desulfurisation of diesel has been investigated.

Bridging the Gap between Ionic Liquids and Molten Salts: Group 1 Metal Salts of the Bistriflamide Anion in the Gas Phase

Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry experiments showed that liquid Group 1 metal salts of the bistriflamide anion undergoing reduced-pressure distillation exhibit a remarkable behavior that is in transition between that of the vapor-liquid equilibrium characteristics of aprotic ionic liquids and that of the Group 1 metal halides: the unperturbed vapors resemble those of aprotic ionic liquids, in the sense that they are essentially composed of discrete ion pairs. However, the formation of large aggregates through a succession of ion-molecule reactions is closer to what might be expected for Group I metal halides. Similar experiments were also carried out with bis{(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl}amine to investigate the effect of H+, which despite being the smallest Group 1 cation, is generally regarded as a nonmetal species. In this case, instead of the complex ion-molecule reaction pattern found for the vapors of Group I metal salts, an equilibrium similar to those observed for aprotic ionic liquids was observed.

Electrochemistry of Hg(II) Salts in Room-Temperature Ionic Liquids

The electrochemistry of HgCl(2) and [Hg(NTf(2))(2)] ([NTf(2)](-) = bis-{(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl}imide) has been studied in room temperature ionic liquids. It has been found that the cyclic voltammetry of Hg(II) is strongly dependent on a number of factors (e.g., concentration, anions present in the mixture, and nature of the working electrode) and differs from that found in other media. Depending on conditions, the cyclic voltammetry of Hg(II) can give rise to one, two, or four reduction peaks, whereas the reverse oxidative scans show two to four peaks. Diffuse reflectance UV-vis spectroscopy and X-ray powder diffraction have been used to aid the assignment of the voltammetric waves.

Retention of toxic chromium from aqueous phase by H3PO4-activated lignin: Effect of salts and desorption studies

In this study, the feasibility of using H₃PO₄-activated lignin for hexavalent chromium adsorption has been investigated. The composite of activated lignin was characterized using FTIR, XRD and SEM with EDAX analysis. It was observed that the pH had a strong effect on the adsorption capacity; adsorption of Cr(VI) was more favorable at acidic pH with maximum uptake at pH 2. The adsorption equilibrium data were best represented by Koble-Corrigan isotherm. The monolayer sorption capacity obtained from the Langmuir model was found to be 77.85 mg/g. Adsorption showed pseudo-second order rate kinetics and the process involving the rate-controlling step is complex as it involves both film and intraparticle diffusion processes. The NaOH desorbing agent was able to release approximately 84% of metal ions. Thermodynamic parameters showed that the sorption process is exothermic and non-spontaneous. The overall Cr(VI) retention on the activated lignin surface perhaps includes both the physical adsorption of Cr(VI) and the consequent reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III). (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Biosorption of toxic chromium from aqueous phase by lignin: mechanism, effect of other metal ions and salts

Surface reaction methodology was implicated in the optimization of hexavalent chromium removal onto lignin with respect to the process parameters. The influence of altering the conditions for removal of chromium(VI), for instance; solution pH, ionic strength, initial concentration, the dose of biosorbent, presence of other metals (Zn and Cu), presence of salts and biosorption-desorption studies, were investigated. It was found that the biosorption capacity of lignin depends on solution pH, with a maximum biosorption capacity for chromium at pH 2. Experimental equilibrium data were fitted to five different isotherm models by non-linear regression method, however, the biosorption equilibrium data were well interpreted by the Freundlich isotherm. The maximum biosorption capacities (q(max)) obtained using Dubinin-Radushkevich and Khan isotherms for Cr(VI) biosorption are 31.6 and 29.1 mg/g. respectively. Biosorption showed pseudo second order rate kinetics at different initial concentrations of Cr(VI). The intraparticle diffusion study indicated that film diffusion may be involved in the current study. The percentage removal of chromium on lignin decreased significantly in the presence of NaHCO3 and K2P2O7 salts. Desorption data revealed that nearly 70% of the Cr(VI) adsorbed on lignin could be desorbed using 0.1 M NaOH. It was evident that the biosorption mechanism involves the attraction of both hexavalent chromium (anionic) and trivalent chromium (cationic) onto the surface of lignin. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.