Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Synthesis of Ionic Liquid Based Electrolytes, Assembly of Li-ion Batteries, and Measurements of Performance at High Temperature
Published on: December 20, 2016
Measurements of the complete solvation response in ionic liquids
Sergei Arzhantsev1, Hui Jin, Gary A Baker
1Department of Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University, 104 Chemistry Building, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.
Abstract:
Dynamic Stokes shift measurements of the solvatochromic probe trans-4-dimethylamino-4'-cyanostilbene were used to measure the solvation response of five imidazolium and one pyrrolidinium ionic liquid at 25 degrees C. The Kerr-gated emission and time-correlated single-photon-counting techniques were used to measure spectral dynamics occurring over the time ranges of 100 fs-200 ps and 50 ps-5 ns, respectively, and a combination of data sets from these two techniques enabled observation of the complete solvation response. Observed response functions were found to be biphasic, consisting of a sub-picosecond component of modest (10-20%) amplitude and a dominant slower component relaxing over times of a few picoseconds to several nanoseconds. The faster component could be correlated to inertial characteristics of the constituent ions, and the slower component to solvent viscosity. Dielectric continuum calculations of the sort previously used to predict solvation dynamics in dipolar liquids were shown to work poorly for predicting the response in these ionic liquids.
Related Concept Videos
Solubility of Ionic Compounds
Solubility
A solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of a solvent, the major component, and a solute, the minor component. The physical state of a solution—solid, liquid, or gas—is typically the same as that of the solvent. Solute concentrations are often described with qualitative terms such as dilute (of relatively low concentration) and concentrated (of relatively high concentration).
In a solution, the solute particles (molecules, atoms, and/or ions)...
Solubility Equilibria: Ionic Product of Water
The ionic product of water varies with temperature, and its value is 1.0 x 10−14 at standard experimental conditions. Per Le Chatelier's...
Electrolytes: van't Hoff Factor
Solubility Equilibria
The...
Aqueous Solutions and Heats of Hydration
When ionic compounds dissolve in water, the ions in the solid separate and disperse uniformly throughout the solution because water molecules surround and solvate the ions, reducing the strong electrostatic forces between them. This process...

