Room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) are an excellent material to explore fundamental physical chemistry research questions with undergraduate students. RTILs are salts that remain liquid at ambient temperature with a low vapor pressure, wide electrochemical window, and tunability that allows the choice of cation or anion to yield certain physical characteristics. As a solvent-less electrolyte, RTILs have high conductivity and a range of viscosities that show interesting behavior. We model the temperature dependence of viscosity and conductivity of various ionic liquid systems using a modified transition state theory called the Compensated Arrhenius Formalism (CAF). The CAF data treatment yields an activation energy (Ea) representing the energy barrier for the transport mechanism. Over the past five years, my students have compiled a database of Ea values for a variety of RTIL systems. We have used the CAF to answer many interesting questions, for example, “why does a reduction in hydrogen bonding cause an increase in viscosity?”. This talk presents our approach to answering the fundamental research question “How do ions move in liquids?” using the CAF and I will highlight how undergraduates have been involved in every step along the way.

How do ions move in liquids? Fundamental physical chemistry research at a PUI

ACS Fall 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.