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Synthesis of Ionic Liquid Based Electrolytes, Assembly of Li-ion Batteries, and Measurements of Performance at High Temperature
Published on: December 20, 2016
Physical and electrochemical properties of thioether-functionalized ionic liquids
Angel A J Torriero1, Amal I Siriwardana, Alan M Bond
1School of Chemistry and ARC Special Research Centre for Green Chemistry, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia.
New ionic liquids featuring thioether-functionalized cations were synthesized and characterized. Their electrochemical properties show potential for applications, though cation oxidation limits their use.
Area of Science:
- Electrochemistry
- Materials Science
- Physical Chemistry
Background:
- Ionic liquids (ILs) are versatile solvents with tunable properties.
- Thioether-functionalized cations offer unique structural motifs for IL design.
- Understanding the electrochemical behavior of novel ILs is crucial for their application.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize and characterize novel ionic liquids with S-alkyl thiolonium, thiotetrazolium, and thiobenzolium cations.
- To evaluate the electrochemical properties, including potential windows and reference systems, of these new ionic liquids.
- To compare the physical and electrochemical properties of these novel ILs with imidazolium-based ionic liquids.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of ionic liquids with various cation and anion combinations.
- Electrochemical characterization using cyclic voltammetry at different electrode materials.
- Measurement of physical properties such as diffusion coefficient, viscosity, and conductivity.
Main Results:
- A series of room-temperature ionic liquids were successfully prepared, with one chloride salt exhibiting a melting point of 92°C.
- The largest potential windows were observed at glassy carbon electrodes, limited by cation oxidation.
- Decamethylferrocene/decamethylferrocenium served as the most applicable IUPAC reference potential scale system; nonadditivity of Faradaic current was observed.
- Physical properties, including diffusion coefficients, viscosity, and conductivity, were measured and found to follow the Stokes-Einstein relationship.
Conclusions:
- The synthesized thioether-functionalized ionic liquids possess distinct electrochemical and physical properties.
- Cation oxidation is a key factor limiting the anodic stability of these ionic liquids.
- These novel ionic liquids offer a promising alternative to imidazolium-based systems for specific electrochemical applications.
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