Two imidazolium-based ionic liquids (ILs), i.e. [Bnmim][BF4] (1-benzyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate) and [Bmim][AuCl4] (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloroauric acid), were adsorbed on the outer surface of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) via a physical method. In order to understand the molecular packing of ILs immobilized on the MWCNTs surfaces, composite samples with different weight ratios of ILs were characterized by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). It was found that the rings of imidazolium cations of ILs are nearly parallel to the MWCNTs surfaces, and the packing orientation is determined by the substituent groups on the imidazolium-ring. Both the anions ([BF4]- and [AuCl4] -) occupy an adjacent area to the imidazolium cation to form a neutral surface layer. Furthermore, for the immobilized ILs, the melting point (Tm) of [Bmim][AuCl4] rises slightly, while the Tm of [Bnmim][BF 4] gets depressed. The molecular rearrangement and the melting point change of the immobilized ILs result from the complex interfacial interactions between the ILs and the MWCNTs surfaces. This journal is © the Partner Organisations 2014.
CITATION STYLE
Zhao, C., Ren, B., Song, Y., Zhang, J., Wei, L., Chen, S., & Zhang, S. (2014). Immobilization and molecular rearrangement of ionic liquids on the surface of carbon nanotubes. RSC Advances, 4(31), 16267–16273. https://doi.org/10.1039/c4ra00569d
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