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The nature of interactions in Alkylimidazolium based ionic liquids

Ionic liquids are materials that have the ability to be designed for specific tasks. Their properties can be adjusted by changing the molecular constituents of the liquid or the intermolecular interactions between composite ions through functionalisation. Therefore, understanding the nature of the i...

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Main Author: Sinxi, Monde
Other Authors: Venter, Gerhard A
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Chemistry 2016
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access_status_str Open Access
author Sinxi, Monde
author2 Venter, Gerhard A
author_browse Sinxi, Monde
Venter, Gerhard A
author_facet Venter, Gerhard A
Sinxi, Monde
author_sort Sinxi, Monde
collection Thesis
description Ionic liquids are materials that have the ability to be designed for specific tasks. Their properties can be adjusted by changing the molecular constituents of the liquid or the intermolecular interactions between composite ions through functionalisation. Therefore, understanding the nature of the interactions between ions is important. In the thesis, we use density functional theory calculations to obtain conformers of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ([emim]+)paired with the anions [Cl]-, [Br]-, [MeCO2]-, [CF3CO2]-, [MeSO3]-, [CF3SO3]-, [BF4]- and [PF6]-. We analyse the structures of the pairs and then explore the nature of the electrostatic, dispersion and hydrogen bonding interactions. Electrostatic interactions were the most dominant interactions. The dispersion interaction energies were found to be of the same order as the estimated energy of the hydrogen bond. The non-covalent index (NCI) analysis was used to visualise the non-covalent interactions in real space as enclosed surfaces. The properties of the surfaces were used to characterise interaction types, namely van der Waals interactions and hydrogen bonds. Furthermore, we find that the density enclosed within the hydrogen bonding surfaces can be used to estimate the potential of the hydrogen bond. To our knowledge, a potential for hydrogen bonding from NCI has not been explored for ionic liquids. Finally, the average strength of the hydrogen bond was calculated from structures extracted from molecular dynamics simulations. They reveal that the hydrogen bond strength for [emim][MeCO2] is approximately two-thirds weaker in the condensed phase than in the gas phase. The effect of the polarising environment is also found to weaken the hydrogen bond slightly.
format Thesis
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:52:08.395Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2016
publishDateRange 2016
publishDateSort 2016
publisher Department of Chemistry
publisherStr Department of Chemistry
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source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/16197 The nature of interactions in Alkylimidazolium based ionic liquids Sinxi, Monde Venter, Gerhard A Chemistry Ionic liquids are materials that have the ability to be designed for specific tasks. Their properties can be adjusted by changing the molecular constituents of the liquid or the intermolecular interactions between composite ions through functionalisation. Therefore, understanding the nature of the interactions between ions is important. In the thesis, we use density functional theory calculations to obtain conformers of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ([emim]+)paired with the anions [Cl]-, [Br]-, [MeCO2]-, [CF3CO2]-, [MeSO3]-, [CF3SO3]-, [BF4]- and [PF6]-. We analyse the structures of the pairs and then explore the nature of the electrostatic, dispersion and hydrogen bonding interactions. Electrostatic interactions were the most dominant interactions. The dispersion interaction energies were found to be of the same order as the estimated energy of the hydrogen bond. The non-covalent index (NCI) analysis was used to visualise the non-covalent interactions in real space as enclosed surfaces. The properties of the surfaces were used to characterise interaction types, namely van der Waals interactions and hydrogen bonds. Furthermore, we find that the density enclosed within the hydrogen bonding surfaces can be used to estimate the potential of the hydrogen bond. To our knowledge, a potential for hydrogen bonding from NCI has not been explored for ionic liquids. Finally, the average strength of the hydrogen bond was calculated from structures extracted from molecular dynamics simulations. They reveal that the hydrogen bond strength for [emim][MeCO2] is approximately two-thirds weaker in the condensed phase than in the gas phase. The effect of the polarising environment is also found to weaken the hydrogen bond slightly. 2016-01-02T05:21:24Z 2016-01-02T05:21:24Z 2015 Master Thesis Masters MSc http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16197 eng application/pdf Department of Chemistry Faculty of Science University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Chemistry
Sinxi, Monde
The nature of interactions in Alkylimidazolium based ionic liquids
thesis_degree_str Master's
title The nature of interactions in Alkylimidazolium based ionic liquids
title_full The nature of interactions in Alkylimidazolium based ionic liquids
title_fullStr The nature of interactions in Alkylimidazolium based ionic liquids
title_full_unstemmed The nature of interactions in Alkylimidazolium based ionic liquids
title_short The nature of interactions in Alkylimidazolium based ionic liquids
title_sort nature of interactions in alkylimidazolium based ionic liquids
topic Chemistry
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16197
work_keys_str_mv AT sinximonde thenatureofinteractionsinalkylimidazoliumbasedionicliquids
AT sinximonde natureofinteractionsinalkylimidazoliumbasedionicliquids