J. Phys. Chem. A 2001, 105, 9305-9309
9305
Ionic Liquids: Novel Media for Characterization of Radical Ions Andrzej Marcinek,* Jacek Zielonka, and Jerzy Ge¸ bicki* Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry, Technical UniVersity, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
Charles M. Gordon* and Ian R. Dunkin Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, UniVersity of Strathclyde, Glasgow G1 1XL, United Kingdom ReceiVed: May 9, 2001; In Final Form: July 9, 2001
The novel application of ionic liquids as media for radiolytic generation and UV-vis-NIR spectroscopic characterization of radical ions is described. The redox properties of neat 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium salts and their aqueous solutions have been investigated by means of pulse radiolysis. Furthermore, ionic liquids prove to be ideal media for the simultaneous generation of radical cations and anions. The radical cations generated from 1-methyl-1,4-dihydronicotinamide, a structural analogue of NADH, have been spectroscopically characterized under matrix conditions for the first time.
Introduction Ionic liquid is now a commonly accepted term for low melting salts (melting point typically