Quantifying the characteristics of ionic liquids (ILs) has been a topic of interest because it will aid in the improvement of their efficiency in applications such as dye-sensitized solar cells. The photoluminescence (PL) of siloles is known to be solvent-dependent and the research here aims to use siloles as probe molecules to learn about the polarity of ILs. By first examining a representative silole in traditional solvents, then adding the silole to viscous nonpolar solvents, the differences in the PL of the silole in an IL can be easily examined in terms of viscosity and polarity effects. A plot of silole emission QY versus viscosity in various solvents reveals important, quantifiable information about IL polarity. The results show a direct relationship between increasing viscosity in nonpolar solvents and the silole emission.  Studying the behavior of siloles in different ILs will contribute to the understanding of IL properties.

Investigating the behavior of siloles in ionic liquids and other viscous media

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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