Eight common dialkylimidazolium-based ionic liquids have been successfully evaporated in ultra-high vacuum and their vapours analysed by line of sight mass spectrometry using electron ionisation. The ionic liquids investigated were 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium bis[(trifluoromethane)sulfonyl]imide, [CnC1Im][Tf2N] (where n = 2, 4, 6, 8), 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, [CnC1Im][BF4] (where n = 4, 8), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium octylsulfate, [C4C1Im][C8OSO3] and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrachloroferrate, [C4C1Im][FeCl4]. All ionic liquids studied here evaporated as neutral ion pairs; no evidence of decomposition products in the vapour phase were observed. Key fragment cations of the ionised vapour of the ionic liquids are identified. The appearance energies, Eapp, of the parent cation were measured and used to estimate the ionisation energies, Ei, for the vapour phase neutral ion pairs. Measured ionisation energies ranged from 10.5 eV to 13.0 eV. Using both the identity and Eapp values, the fragmentation pathways for a number of fragment cations are postulated. It will be shown that the enthalpy of vaporisation, ΔvapH, can successfully be measured using more than one fragment cation, although caution is required as many fragment cations can also be formed by ionisation of decomposition products.

The vapour of imidazolium-based ionic liquids: a mass spectrometry study

Small gas-phase clusters (ion pairs) of the ionic liquid [emim]+[Tf2N]− have been generated in a supersonic expansion. Clusters are investigated via UV photofragmentation and time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Spectra between 42 000 and 45 000 cm–1 reveal dynamical branching between direct dissociation of the ion pair to the cation and anion and to radical species. The IR spectrum between 2800 and 3200 cm–1 was measured by action spectroscopy. Multiple conformations of the ion pair are found to be present in the molecular beam, leading to broad spectral features, further complicated by hydrogen bonding and Fermi resonances. The measured and theoretical spectra compare well, and the jet-cooled ion pair structures present in the molecular beam are strongly hydrogen bonded “stacked” conformers.

IR and UV spectroscopy of vapor-phase jet-cooled ionic liquid [emim]+ [Tf2N]-: ion pair structure and photodissociation dynamics.

The heats of vaporization of the room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) N-butyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium bistrifluorosulfonylimide, N-butyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium dicyanamide, and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide are determined using a heated effusive vapor source in conjunction with single photon ionization by a tunable vacuum ultraviolet synchrotron source. The relative gas phase ionic liquid vapor densities in the effusive beam are monitored by clearly distinguished dissociative photoionization processes via a time-of-flight mass spectrometer at a tunable vacuum ultraviolet beamline 9.0.2.3 (Chemical Dynamics Beamline) at the Advanced Light Source synchrotron facility. Resulting in relatively few assumptions, through the analysis of both parent cations and fragment cations, the heat of vaporization of N-butyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium bistrifluorosulfonylimide is determined to be Delta Hvap(298.15 K) = 195+-19 kJ mol-1. The observed heats of vaporization of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide (Delta Hvap(298.15 K) = 174+-12 kJ mol-1) and N-butyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium dicyanamide (Delta Hvap(298.15 K) = 171+-12 kJ mol-1) are consistent with reported experimental values using electron impact ionization. The tunable vacuum ultraviolet source has enabled accurate measurement of photoion appearance energies. These appearance energies are in good agreement with MP2 calculations for dissociative photoionization of the ion pair. These experimental heats of vaporization, photoion appearance energies, and ab initio calculations corroborate vaporization of these RTILs as intact cation-anion ionmore » pairs.« less

Heats of vaporization of room temperature ionic liquids by tunable vacuum ultraviolet photoionization

The ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide was vaporized at 420 K, and the ion-pair constituents were entrained in a beam of liquid He nanodroplets and cooled to 0.4 K. The vapor pressure was optimized such that each He droplet picked up a single ion-pair from the gas phase. Infrared spectroscopy in the CH stretch region reveals bands that are assigned to intact ion-pairs on the basis of comparisons to ab initio harmonic frequency computations of 23 low energy isomers. The He droplet spectrum is consistent with a weighted sum of the computed harmonic spectra, in which the weights are determined from ab initio computations of the relative free energies at 420 K. Anharmonic resonance polyads in the CH stretch region are treated explicitly, which improves the agreement between the experiment and computed spectra for ion-pairs. For isomers having a strong cation···anion hydrogen bonding interaction, the imidazolium C(2)-H stretch fundamental is shifted to lower energy and i...

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Helium Nanodroplet Isolation and Infrared Spectroscopy of the Isolated Ion-Pair 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide

Atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of small clusters and nanodroplets of the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl]imide [EMIM-Tf2N] subject to an external electric field were performed. A 125-ion-pair droplet was found to be nearly spherical with an isotropic distribution of cations and anions under vacuum conditions. The droplet was subjected to external electric fields of varying strength, and ion emission events were observed. The initially spherical droplet is elongated along the electric field axis, resulting in nonspherical behavior and increased net dipole values after the application of strong electric fields. The critical electric field required for ion field emission was determined to be 0.985 V/nm, in agreement with the experimental value of 1.0 V/nm. Excellent agreement is found in the prediction of ionic emission products for a neutral 125-ion-pair droplet of the ionic liquid at an electric field strength of 1.2 V/nm when compared to the results of two ...

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of 1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium Bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl]imide Clusters and Nanodrops

Room-temperature ionic liquids exert vanishingly small vapor pressures under ambient conditions. Under reduced pressure, certain ionic liquids have demonstrated volatility, and they are thought to vaporize as intact cation-anion ion pairs. However, ion pair vapors are difficult to detect because their concentration is extremely low under these conditions. In this Letter, we report the products of reacting ions such as NO(+), NH4(+), NO3(-), and O2(-) with vaporized aprotic ionic liquids in their intact ion pair form. Ion pair fragmentation to the cation or anion as well as ion exchange and ion addition processes are observed by selected-ion flow tube mass spectrometry. Free energies of the reactions involving 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis-trifluoromethylsulfonylimide determined by ab initio quantum mechanical calculations indicate that ion exchange or ion addition are energetically more favorable than charge-transfer processes, whereas charge-transfer processes can be important in reactions involving 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide.

Jeffrey F Friedman

Papers

Reactions of Ions with Ionic Liquid Vapors by Selected-Ion Flow Tube Mass Spectrometry.