화학공학소재연구정보센터
Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol.54, No.46, 11678-11700, 2015
Biodegradable Ionic Liquids: Effects of Temperature, Alkyl Side-Chain Length, and Anion on the Thermodynamic Properties and Interaction Energies As Determined by Molecular Dynamics Simulations Coupled with ab Initio Calculations
The effects of incorporating the ester functional group (-C=OO-) into the side chain of the 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium cation ([C(1)COOC(n)C(1)im](+), n = 1, 2, 4) paired with [Br](-), [NO3](-), [BF4](-), [PF6](-), [TfO](-), and [Tf2N](-) anions on the various thermodynamic properties and interaction energies of these biodegradable ionic liquids (ILs) were investigated by means of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations combined with ab initio calculations in the temperature range of 298-550 K. Excluding the simulated density, the highest values of the volumetric properties such as molar volume, isobaric expansion coefficient, and isothermal compressibility coefficient can be attributed to the largest cation incorporated with the weakest coordinating anion, [Tf2N](-), and the minimum of the corresponding properties correspond to the smallest cation, especially when combined with the smaller anions, including [NO3](-) and [Br](-). In addition, ion-pair, cationic, and anionic volumes were computed using MD simulations as well as ab initio calculations. The results revelaed an increasing trend in the molar enthalpy of vaporization. The reverse trends of the volumetric properties were observed for the cohesive energy density, Hildebrand solubility parameter, surface tension, surface excess enthalpy, lattice energy, thermal pressure, internal pressure, binding energy, and interaction energy. On the basis of the optimized structures, we believed that a reduction in the strength of the hydrogen bonds due to the larger charge distribution and steric hindrance of bulkier ions is responsible for the observed trends. These results were also confirmed by calculating the critical and boiling temperatures (by two different empirical equation), surface excess enthalpies, parachors, and standard molar entropies. The other derivatives of the thermodynamic properties such as the isobaric and isochoric heat capacities, isothermal bulk moduli, and speeds of sound in the ILs were computed as functions of temperature. Interestingly, a direct relationship was found between the simulated results for the surface tension and the computed values of the bulk modulus. Furthermore, it was found that sound waves are transmitted faster in a compact IL than in a compressible IL. In addition, for each IL, the molar refraction, refractive index, dielectric constant, and mean static polarizability were approximated at room temperature. The smallest values of these properties were observed for ILs composed of the spherically symmetric anions [PF6](-) and [BF4](-). In addition, the formation of multiple intramolecular hydrogen bonds between the O atoms of the ester functional group and the hydrogen atoms of the cation was also observed for all optimized conformations. Finally, the obtained results demonstrate that the introduction of an ester group significantly increases the interionic interactions and, subsequently, the packing efficiency of these ILs in comparison with those of conventional imidazolium-based ILs.