Communication: Solvation and dielectric response in ionic liquids--conductivity extension of the continuum model

The solvation response of a polarity probe in a conducting liquid is analyzed based on simple continuum theory. A multi-exponential description of the dynamics is inverted to give an effective dc conductivity and a generalized permittivity spectrum in terms of Debye modes. For Coumarin 153 in ionic liquids the conductivity is found to be reduced systematically from the bulk value, whereas the permittivity from GHz-THz bulk absorption measurements is well reproduced by the solvation experiment. Thus, by using a dye as molecular antenna, the dielectric dispersion of the microscopic environment can be obtained.