New Local Composition Model for Correlating of the Molar Conductivity of Ionic Liquid-Solvent Systems over the Whole Concentration Range

J Phys Chem B. 2024 Mar 7;128(9):2181-2189. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c07173. Epub 2024 Feb 26.

Abstract

Considering that traditional electrolyte models are limited to use in the solvent-rich region, the development of new models to describe the molar conductivity (Λm) over the whole concentration range of ionic liquid (IL)-solvent systems is a meaningful study. Based on the idea of local composition and the law of independent ion migration, a new model is proposed in this study and used to successfully correlate the relationship between Λm and composition over the whole concentration range for 18 IL-solvent systems with satisfactory fitting accuracy. Meanwhile, the electrical conductivity (κ) of the systems is estimated using the calculated Λm. Moreover, the strength of anion-cation, anion-solvent, and cation-solvent interactions in the systems is explored by the obtained energy parameters, and the effect of the solvent on the interactions is investigated. The proposed model provides a new method to accurately describe the conductivity property of IL-solvent systems over the whole concentration range.