Bin Dong

Self-Aggregation Behavior of Fluorescent Carbazole-Tailed Imidazolium Ionic Liquids in Aqueous Solutions

Three amphiphilic imidazolium ionic liquids (ILs), 1-[n-(N-carbazole)alkyl]-3-methylimidazolium bromide [carbazoleC(n)mim]Br (n = 6, 10, and 12), that incorporate a fluorescent carbazole moiety at the terminal of the hydrocarbon chain, were designed and synthesized. Their surface activity, aggregation behavior, and thermodynamics of micelle formation in aqueous solutions were systematically investigated by surface tension, electrical conductivity, and (1)H NMR spectroscopy. The incorporation of bulky carbazole groups led to the loose arrangement of [carbazoleC(n)mim]Br molecules at the air-water interface. Both the enhanced hydrophobicity and the pi-pi interaction due to the incorporation of carbazole groups contributed to the lower critical micelle concentration (cmc) and higher micellar aggregation number, reflecting a strong capability of the designed carbazole-tailed imidazolium ILs for the formation of micelle. The analysis of (1)H NMR spectra revealed that the carbazole moieties may overlap with the middle methylenes of the alkyl chains. The amphiphilic carbazole-tailed imidazolium ILs demonstrated strong and stable fluorescence properties, indicating their potential application in the combined field of surface chemistry and photochemistry.

Aggregation Behaviors of Dodecyl Sulfate-Based Anionic Surface Active Ionic Liquids in Water

Halogen-free, low-cost alkyl sulfate-based surface active ionic liquids (SAILs), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dodecyl sulfate ([C(4)mim][C(12)SO(4)]), and N-butyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium dodecyl sulfate ([C(4)MP][C(12)SO(4)]) were easily synthesized through ion exchange reaction. The aggregation behaviors of [C(4)mim][C(12)SO(4)] and [C(4)MP][C(12)SO(4)] in aqueous solution were investigated by surface tension, electric conductivity, and static fluorescence quenching. Both [C(4)mim][C(12)SO(4)] and [C(4)MP][C(12)SO(4)] have rather lower cmc, γ(cmc) values and higher pC(20), π(cmc) values than those reported for the traditional ionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and imidazolium-based SAIL, 1-dodecyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([C(12)mim]Br), with the same hydrocarbon chain length. The thermodynamic parameters evaluated from electric conductivity measurements show that the micelle formation of [C(4)mim][C(12)SO(4)] and [C(4)MP][C(12)SO(4)] is entropy-driven in the temperature range investigated. Lower average aggregation number indicates that the micelles of two SAILs present much looser structure. It is found that both the nature and the ring type of counterions can affect the aggregation behavior in aqueous solution. (1)H NMR results of [C(4)mim][C(12)SO(4)] were used to further verify the mechanism of micelle formation. Hydration ability and steric hindrance of the imidazolium or pyrrolidinium counterion as well as the cooperative hydrophobic interaction of longer alkyl chain of [C(12)SO(4)] anion and comparatively shorter alkyl chain of [C(4)mim] or [C(4)MP] cation are proposed to play critical roles in the aggregation of [C(4)mim][C(12)SO(4)] and [C(4)MP][C(12)SO(4)].

Cation modules as building blocks forming supramolecular assemblies with planar receptor-anion complexes.

Ion-based materials were fabricated through ion pairing of planar receptor-anion complexes and cation modules as negatively and positively charged building blocks, respectively. Anion receptors that could not form soft materials by themselves provided mesophases upon anion binding and subsequent ion pairing with aliphatic cation modules. The mesogenic behaviors were affected by structural modification of both the cation module and the anion receptor. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements suggested the formation of columnar mesophases with contributions from charge-by-charge and charge-segregated arrangements. Flash-photolysis time-resolved microwave conductivity measurements further revealed a higher charge-carrier mobility in the assembly with a large contribution from the charge-segregated arrangement than in the charge-by-charge-based assembly.

Ion-based materials derived from positively and negatively charged chloride complexes of π-conjugated molecules.

Oriented salts from planar charged species were prepared by combining positively and negatively charged receptor-anion complexes with similar geometries using dicationic and electronically neutral π-conjugated receptors. Phenylene- or pyrimidine-bridged bis(imidazolium) dicationic anion receptors formed monocationic receptor-Cl(-) complexes that were accompanied by a free Cl(-). This free Cl(-) was subsequently captured by pyrrole-based neutral anion receptors to form negatively charged receptor-Cl(-) complexes. The ion pair of the resulting positively and negatively charged planar receptor-Cl(-) complexes could produce a supramolecular octane gel, adopting a lamellar self-organized structure in its xerogel state. On the other hand, the solid-state ion pairs had hexagonal columnar mesophases, which formed via alternate stacking of the positively and negatively charged planar receptor-Cl(-) complexes. By use of the flash-photolysis time-resolved microwave conductivity technique, the one-dimensional charge-carrier transporting property, with a mobility of 0.05 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1), was determined for the newly prepared solid-state ion pairs.

Dispersion of carbon nanotubes by carbazole-tailed amphiphilic imidazolium ionic liquids in aqueous solutions

Surfactants with a polycyclic aromatic moiety and a long hydrocarbon chain, carbazole-tailed amphiphilic imidazolium ionic liquids 1-[n-(N-carbazole)alkyl]-3-methylimidazolium bromide [CzC(n)MIm]Br (n=10 and 12), were designed to disperse carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in aqueous solutions. UV-vis-NIR spectra were performed to determine the dispersion of CNTs and the optimal concentration (C(opt)) of [CzC(n)MIm]Br. Compared with [C(n)MIm]Br, [CzC(n)MIm]Br was more effective with the smaller C(opt) and more individual CNTs, reflecting the effect of the carbazole moiety. The adsorption of [CzC(n)MIm]Br molecules on CNTs was investigated by zeta-potential, surface tension, fluorescence, and (1)H NMR. Having zeta-potentials higher than 15mV contributed to the long-term stability of aqueous CNT dispersions. The significant fluorescence quenching and the upfield shift of carbazole protons support the π-π stacking interaction between carbazole moieties and the π-networks of CNTs. Meanwhile, the upfield shift of imidazolium protons indicates the cation-π interaction between the imidazolium ions and the π-networks of CNTs.

Organic Solvents Induce the Formation of Oil-in-Ionic Liquid Microemulsion Aggregations

The role of four organic solvents in the formation process of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF4) based ionic liquid (IL) microemulsions is investigated. The results showed that the addition of Triton X-100 remarkably decreased the conductivity of bmimBF4. The added organic solvents provided a strong apolar environment for the hydrophobic tails of Triton X-100 and caused the surfactant molecules to aggregate into the interfacial film of oil-in-bmimBF4 (O/IL) microemulsions. As a result, the conductivities of the solutions were initially increased because the insulative Triton X-100 molecules were assembled, which corresponded to increasing the concentration of continuous bmimBF4 solutions. The hydrophobic interaction between the dispersed organic solvents and the hydrophobic tails of Triton X-100 may be the driving force for the formation of O/IL microemulsions. The droplets of O/IL microemulsions were successively swollen by organic solvents, and a bicontinuous IL-containing microemulsion was observed by freeze-fracture transmission electron microscopy for the first time. The current study can help in further understanding the ILs-containing microemulsions and thereby improve microemulsion theory.

Lyotropic liquid crystalline phases formed in ternary mixtures of 1-cetyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide/p-xylene/water: a SAXS, POM, and rheology study.

The phase behavior of ternary mixtures of 1-cetyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide (C(16)mim-Br)/p-xylene/water is studied by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), polarized optical microscopy (POM), and rheology measurements. Two types of lyotropic liquid crystalline phases are formed in the mixtures: hexagonal and lamellar. The structural parameters of the lyotropic liquid crystalline phases are calculated. Greater surfactant content in the sample leads to denser aggregation of the cylindrical units in the hexagonal liquid crystalline phase. The increase in lattice parameter and thickness of the water layer in lamellar phase are attributed to the increase of water content, and the area per surfactant molecule at the hydrophobic/hydrophilic interface for lamellar phase is found to be larger than that for hexagonal phase. The structural parameters of the liquid crystalline phases formed from the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) system are larger than those for the C(16)mim-Br system. The rheological properties of the samples are also found to be related to the structure of the liquid crystalline phases.

Charge‐Based Assemblies Comprising Planar Receptor–Anion Complexes with Bulky Alkylammonium Cations

Charge-by-charge assembly: On the basis of a planar receptor-anion complex, bulky tetraalkylammonium cations were found to construct charge-by-charge assemblies comprising alternately stacked positively and negatively charged species. The number and length of long alkyl chains in the cations determine the states of assembled structures, resulting in the formation of a library of charge-based materials (see scheme).

Microemulsions of N-alkylimidazolium ionic liquid and their performance as microreactors for the photocycloaddition of 9-substituted anthracenes.

The phase behavior of the ternary system consisting of an ionic liquid (1-tetradecyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide [C14mim]Br), p-xylene, and water were investigated. Depending on the composition of the ternary system, formation of hexagonal and lamellar liquid crystals as well as microemulsions was observed. 1H NMR spectroscopy study, 2D ROESY spectroscopic analysis, and rheological measurements of the microemulsions indicated that p-xylene is preferably located in the hydrophobic core and the palisade shells of the microemulsions. The sizes of the microemulsion droplets for the samples with water/[C14mim]Br ratio of 78:22 are measured by both dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy with the freeze-fracture technique (FF-TEM). Upon change of the mole ratio of the solubilized xylene to [C14mim]Br from 0 to 2.4, the diameters of the microemulsion droplets increase from ca. 20 to 90 nm and size distribution gets broad. These microemulsions can solubilize and preorientate anthracene derivatives with a polar 9-substituent, and thus may enhance the head-to-head cyclomers in the photocyclization of these substrates.

ZrO2 Nanoparticles Synthesized using Ionic Liquid Microemulsion

The water‐in‐ionic liquid (W/IL) microemulsion has been used to prepare the tetragonal ZrO2 nanoparticles. A number of anomalous spherical dispersed particles have been obtained. However, the ZrO2 nanoparticles synthesized using traditional water‐in‐xylene (W/O) microemulsion show an obvious fusion trace, indicating that the congregation takes place when the precursor was calcined. High thermostable ionic liquid may act as a protector to prevent the congregation of product. The samples are further characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, and UV‐Vis spectroscopy. The results suggest that the obtained product has high degree of crystallinity and a narrow size distribution (15–40 nm). The XRD pattern has indicated a typical tetragonal crystal structure of ZrO2. Moreover, the UV‐Vis absorption of the samples also shows the otential advantage in an application of screening ultraviolet radiation.