Proton Transport in Imidazoles: Unraveling the Role of Supramolecular Structure

Tyler Cosby, Adam Holt, Philip J. Griffin, Yangyang Wang, Joshua Sangoro

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Scopus citations

Abstract

The impact of supramolecular hydrogen bonded networks on dynamics and charge transport in 2-ethyl-4-methylimidazole (2E4MIm), a model proton-conducting system, is investigated by broadband dielectric spectroscopy, depolarized dynamic light scattering, viscometry, and calorimetry. It is observed that the slow, Debye-like relaxation reflecting the supramolecular structure in neat 2E4MIm is eliminated upon the addition of minute amounts of levulinic acid. This is attributed to the dissociation of imidazole molecules and the breaking down of hydrogen-bonded chains, which leads to a 10-fold enhancement of ionic conductivity.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3961-3965
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry Letters
Volume6
Issue number19
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 18 2015

Funding

Keywords

  • Debye relaxation
  • Grotthuss mechanism
  • hydrogen-bonding
  • imidazole
  • proton conducting liquid
  • supramolecular

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