Low temperature glass/crystal transition in ionic liquids determined by H-bond coulombic strength

Self-assembled ionic liquid crystals are anisotropic ionic conductors, with potential applications in areas as important as solar cells, battery electrolytes and catalysis. However, many of these applications are still limited by the lack of precise control over the variety of phases that can be for...

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Published in:Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP 2020-09, Vol.22 (36), p.2524-253
Main Authors: López-Bueno, Carlos, Bittermann, Marius R, Dacuña-Mariño, Bruno, Llamas-Saiz, Antonio Luis, del Carmen Giménez-López, María, Woutersen, Sander, Rivadulla, Francisco
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Self-assembled ionic liquid crystals are anisotropic ionic conductors, with potential applications in areas as important as solar cells, battery electrolytes and catalysis. However, many of these applications are still limited by the lack of precise control over the variety of phases that can be formed (nematic, smectic, or semi/fully crystalline), determined by a complex pattern of different intermolecular interactions. Here we report the results of a systematic study of crystallization of several imidazolium salts in which the relative contribution of isotropic coulombic and directional H-bond interactions is carefully tuned. Our results demonstrate that the relative strength of directional H-bonds with respect to the isotropic Coulomb interaction determines the formation of a crystalline, semi-crystalline or glassy phase at low temperature. The possibility of pinpointing H-bonding directionality in ionic liquids make them model systems to study the crystallization of an ionic solid under a perturbed Coulomb potential. Self-assembled ionic liquid crystals are anisotropic ionic conductors, with potential applications in areas as important as solar cells, battery electrolytes and catalysis. We show that the type of crystal formed depend on the strength of H-bonds.
ISSN:1463-9076
1463-9084
DOI:10.1039/d0cp02633f