Physico-Chemical Properties and Phase Behaviour of Pyrrolidinium-Based Ionic Liquids

A review of the relevant literature on 1-alkyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium-based ionic liquids has been presented. The phase diagrams for the binary systems of {1-ethyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium trifluoromethanesulfonate (triflate) [EMPYR][CF3SO3] + water, or + 1-butanol} and for the binary systems of {1-propyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium trifluoromethanesulfonate (triflate) [PMPYR][CF3SO3] + water, or + an alcohol (1-butanol, 1-hexanol, 1-octanol, 1-decanol)} have been determined at atmospheric pressure using a dynamic method. The influence of alcohol chain length was discussed for the [PMPYR][CF3SO3]. A systematic decrease in the solubility was observed with an increase of the alkyl chain length of an alcohol. (Solid + liquid) phase equilibria with complete miscibility in the liquid phase region were observed for the systems involving water and alcohols. The solubility of the ionic liquid increases as the alkyl chain length on the pyrrolidinium cation increases. The correlation of the experimental data has been carried out using the Wilson, UNIQUAC and the NRTL equations. The phase diagrams reported here have been compared to the systems published earlier with the 1-alkyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium-based ionic liquids. The influence of the cation and anion on the phase behaviour has been discussed. The basic thermal properties of pure ILs, i.e., melting temperature and the enthalpy of fusion, the solid-solid phase transition temperature and enthalpy have been measured using a differential scanning microcalorimetry technique.