Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Electrolyte and Nonelectrolyte Solutions02:21

Electrolyte and Nonelectrolyte Solutions

Substances that undergo either a physical or a chemical change in solution to yield ions that can conduct electricity are called electrolytes. If a substance yields ions in solution, that is, if the compound undergoes 100% dissociation, then the substance is a strong electrolyte. Complete dissociation is indicated by a single forward arrow. For example, water-soluble ionic compounds like sodium chloride dissociate into sodium cations and chloride anions in aqueous solution.
Electrolytes: van't Hoff Factor03:08

Electrolytes: van't Hoff Factor

Colligative Properties of ElectrolytesThe colligative properties of a solution depend only on the number, not on the identity, of solute species dissolved. The concentration terms in the equations for various colligative properties (freezing point depression, boiling point elevation, osmotic pressure) pertain to all solute species present in the solution. Nonelectrolytes dissolve physically without dissociation or any other accompanying process. Each molecule that dissolves yields one dissolved...
Aqueous Solutions and Heats of Hydration02:42

Aqueous Solutions and Heats of Hydration

Water and other polar molecules are attracted to ions. The electrostatic attraction between an ion and a molecule with a dipole is called an ion-dipole attraction. These attractions play an important role in the dissolution of ionic compounds in water.
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...
Theory of Strong Electrolytes01:23

Theory of Strong Electrolytes

The interionic forces of the strong electrolytes depend on the solvent's dielectric constant, which is the ability of a solvent to store electrical energy, based on its polarizability. and the solution's concentration. In high-dielectric solvents and in dilute solutions, weak electrostatic forces keep ions apart. However, in low-dielectric solvents or concentrated solutions, stronger interionic forces may cause ions to pair up as ionic doublets despite being fully ionized. The theory of strong...
Ostwald’s Dilution Law01:25

Ostwald’s Dilution Law

Consider a binary electrolyte AB with a concentration ‘c’ that reversibly dissociates into its constituent ions. The degree of this dissociation is represented by ⍺. This means that the equilibrium concentration of each ionic species can be expressed as ⍺c. As well as this, the fraction of the electrolyte that remains undissociated at equilibrium is given by (1−⍺). The corresponding equilibrium concentration for this undissociated portion is then calculated as (1−⍺)c. For such solutions,...
Ionic Association01:28

Ionic Association

The ionic association is the association of oppositely charged ions in an electrolyte solution to form ion pairs. Bjerrum defined ion pairs as two oppositely charged ions whose electrostatic attraction exceeds the thermal energy of the system, typically expressed as 2kT. Electrostatic attraction depends on ionic charge, separation distance, and the dielectric constant of the medium. Thermal energy, represented by kT, reflects the tendency of ions to move independently due to molecular motion.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Identifying the impact of chemical functional groups on ionic liquid conductivity.

Chemical science·2026
Same author

Entropic-dielectric interplay governs ion adsorption in inner electric double layers.

Science advances·2026
Same author

Long term safety and efficacy of a functionalized nanogel with endothelin-1 and bradykinin receptor antagonist peptides for treatment of osteoarthritis of the metacarpophalangeal and distal interphalangeal joints in horses: a descriptive clinical pilot study.

BMC veterinary research·2026
Same author

Laser writing of plasmonic catalytic microchannels on UiO-66 layer.

Nanoscale·2026
Same author

Development of spectroelectrochemical microscopy for the real-time study of electrochemical surface processes.

Npj Materials degradation·2026
Same author

From batch to flow plasmon catalysis: revealing mass transport limits in Au@Pd nanocatalysts for Suzuki coupling.

Nanoscale·2026
Same journal

The TaMYB55-TaSnRK1α1-TabZIP9 module confers heat stress tolerance in wheat.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Superstatistics approach to turbulent circulation fluctuations.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

A molecular timescale for evolution of cobamide biosynthesis.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Pierre Chambon, a pioneer of molecular biology and gene regulation in eukaryotes.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Granulosa cell glycogen fuels the avascular corpus luteum.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Synthetic essentiality of TRAIL/TNFSF10 in VHL-deficient renal cell carcinoma.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 11, 2026

Synthesis of Ionic Liquid Based Electrolytes, Assembly of Li-ion Batteries, and Measurements of Performance at High Temperature
11:04

Synthesis of Ionic Liquid Based Electrolytes, Assembly of Li-ion Batteries, and Measurements of Performance at High Temperature

Published on: December 20, 2016

Ionic liquids behave as dilute electrolyte solutions.

Matthew A Gebbie1, Markus Valtiner, Xavier Banquy

  • 1Materials Department and Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|May 30, 2013
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Pure ionic liquids act as dilute weak electrolyte solutions, with less than 0.1% ion dissociation at room temperature. This finding impacts the design of ionic liquids for enhanced charge density.

Keywords:
Boltzmann distributionelectrostatic interactioninterfacial phenomena

More Related Videos

Solid-state Graft Copolymer Electrolytes for Lithium Battery Applications
05:33

Solid-state Graft Copolymer Electrolytes for Lithium Battery Applications

Published on: August 12, 2013

From Molecules to Materials: Engineering New Ionic Liquid Crystals Through Halogen Bonding
06:44

From Molecules to Materials: Engineering New Ionic Liquid Crystals Through Halogen Bonding

Published on: March 24, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 11, 2026

Synthesis of Ionic Liquid Based Electrolytes, Assembly of Li-ion Batteries, and Measurements of Performance at High Temperature
11:04

Synthesis of Ionic Liquid Based Electrolytes, Assembly of Li-ion Batteries, and Measurements of Performance at High Temperature

Published on: December 20, 2016

Solid-state Graft Copolymer Electrolytes for Lithium Battery Applications
05:33

Solid-state Graft Copolymer Electrolytes for Lithium Battery Applications

Published on: August 12, 2013

From Molecules to Materials: Engineering New Ionic Liquid Crystals Through Halogen Bonding
06:44

From Molecules to Materials: Engineering New Ionic Liquid Crystals Through Halogen Bonding

Published on: March 24, 2018

Area of Science:

  • Physical Chemistry
  • Materials Science

Background:

  • Ionic liquids (ILs) are salts that are liquid at room temperature.
  • Their potential applications are hindered by a lack of understanding of ion dissociation and charge screening.
  • Previous assumptions about high ion concentrations in ILs are challenged.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify the effective ion dissociation in pure ionic liquids.
  • To investigate the mechanism of charge screening by ionic liquids at surfaces.
  • To provide a framework for designing ionic liquids with higher free ion densities.

Main Methods:

  • Direct surface force measurements using a surface forces apparatus with electrochemical control.
  • Quantitative modeling using Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory with steric forces.
  • Thermodynamic arguments based on ion energetics in a dielectric medium.

Main Results:

  • Pure ionic liquids behave as dilute weak electrolyte solutions (<0.1% dissociation at room temperature).
  • Ionic liquids screen surfaces via bound (Stern) and diffuse electric double layers.
  • Most ions in [C4mim][NTf2] are not effectively dissociated outside the bound layer.

Conclusions:

  • The effective dissociation of ionic liquids is significantly lower than previously assumed.
  • A molecular-scale framework is proposed for designing ILs with tunable charge densities.
  • This work clarifies inconsistencies and guides the development of high-free-ion density ILs.