Issue 21, 2015

Electrical conductivity in two mixed-valence liquids

Abstract

Two different room-temperature liquid systems were investigated, both of which conduct a DC electrical current without decomposition or net chemical transformation. DC electrical conductivity is possible in both cases because of the presence of two different oxidation states of a redox-active species. One system is a 1 : 1 molar mixture of n-butylferrocene (BuFc) and its cation bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide salt, [BuFc+][NTf2], while the other is a 1 : 1 molar mixture of TEMPO and its cation bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide salt, [TEMPO+][NTf2]. The TEMPO–[TEMPO+][NTf2] system is notable in that it is an electrically conducting liquid in which the conductivity originates from an organic molecule in two different oxidation states, with no metals present. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction of [TEMPO+][NTf2] revealed a complex structure with structurally different cation–anion interactions for cis- and trans [NTf2] conformers. The electron transfer self-exchange rate constant for BuFc/BuFc+ in CD3CN was determined by 1H NMR spectroscopy to be 5.4 × 106 M−1 s−1. The rate constant allowed calculation of an estimated electrical conductivity of 7.6 × 10−5 Ω−1 cm−1 for BuFc–[BuFc+][NTf2], twice the measured value of 3.8 × 10−5 Ω−1 cm−1. Similarly, a previously reported self-exchange rate constant for TEMPO/TEMPO+ in CH3CN led to an estimated conductivity of 1.3 × 10−4 Ω−1 cm−1 for TEMPO–[TEMPO+][NTf2], a factor of about 3 higher than the measured value of 4.3 × 10−5 Ω−1 cm−1.

Graphical abstract: Electrical conductivity in two mixed-valence liquids

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
26 Feb 2015
Accepted
01 May 2015
First published
05 May 2015

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015,17, 14107-14114

Author version available

Electrical conductivity in two mixed-valence liquids

W. Yao, S. P. Kelley, R. D. Rogers and T. P. Vaid, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015, 17, 14107 DOI: 10.1039/C5CP01172H

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements