Li Coordination of a Novel Asymmetric Anion in Ionic Liquid-in-Li Salt Electrolytes

Pinchas Nürnberg; Elena I Lozinskaya; Alexander S Shaplov; Monika Schönhoff

doi:10.1021/acs.jpcb.9b11051

Li Coordination of a Novel Asymmetric Anion in Ionic Liquid-in-Li Salt Electrolytes

J Phys Chem B. 2020 Feb 6;124(5):861-870. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.9b11051. Epub 2020 Jan 23.

Authors

Pinchas Nürnberg¹, Elena I Lozinskaya², Alexander S Shaplov³, Monika Schönhoff¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Physical Chemistry , University of Muenster , Corrensstrasse 28/30 , 48149 Münster , Germany.
² A.N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds Russian Academy of Sciences (INEOS RAS) , Vavilov Street 28 , 119991 Moscow , Russia.
³ Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) , 5 Avenue des Hauts-Fourneaux , L-4362 Esch-sur-Alzette , Luxembourg.

PMID: 31927960
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.9b11051

Abstract

We analyze the influence of the asymmetry of the anion on coordination and transport processes in a Li salt/ionic liquid system. The relatively new asymmetric 2,2,2-trifluoromethylsulfonyl-N-cyanamide (TFSAM) anion was investigated in Pyr₁₄TFSAM_(1-x)LiTFSAM_x over a broad concentration range (up to x = 0.7 Li salt) and was compared to the well-known bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide (TFSA) anion. In contrast to the TFSA-based system, the system with TFSAM has no phase transition over the whole concentration range. Raman spectroscopy and NMR chemical shifts elucidate the Li coordination in detail. Up to x = 0.3, the asymmetric anion coordinates to Li⁺ only via the cyano group. With increasing Li salt fraction, the contribution of Li-oxygen coordination increases. This coordination effects influence the transport properties of the system, as examined via pulsed-field-gradient NMR (PFG-NMR). Although the overall diffusivity of both systems is decreasing because of viscosity effects, the relative diffusivity of the Li cation is increasing with x. This suggests a change in the transport mechanism depending on the Li salt fraction. Interestingly, the contribution of structural diffusion at high Li salt concentrations (x ≥ 0.6) seems to be higher in the TFSAM system, influenced by the nonsymmetric coordination, while in the TFSA system, the vehicular transport seems to be still predominant at x ≥ 0.6.