1H, 13C NMR and DFT Study of Hydrogen Bonding in Imidazolium-based Ionic Liquids

The ionic liquid 1-decyl-3-methyl-imidazolium bromide [C10mim][Br], the neat material, and also dissolved (~0.01 mole fraction) in various dielectric media (acetonitrile, benzene, chloroform, dichloromethane, methanol, 2-butanol and H2O) was studied using 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy. The most important interaction in this compound is considered to be the Br-...H-C2+ hydrogen bond, which is formed between the anions and cations. The obtained results show that dielectric medium influence mostly the behavior of the Br-...H-C2+ bridge proton. The changes observed in 1H and 13C NMR spectra of [C10mim][Br] with increasing solvents polarity and temperature can be explained applying the model of the lengthening of the H2...Br- bond with the accompanying thickening of the solvation shell of bromine anion and C2-H bond contraction. The short-range order effects related to the configuration of neighboring dipoles of solvent molecules are more important for the solvation ability of small anions than the bulk solvent field effect. However, the solvents, molecules of which tend to associate via hydrogen bonding, can significantly affect the dynamics of anions.