Using high-pressure infrared methods, we have investigated close interactions of charge-enhanced C-H-O type in ionic liquid∕dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) mixtures. The solvation and association of the 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BMI(+)BF(4)(-)) and 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BMM(+)BF(4)(-)) in DMSO-d(6) were examined by analysis of C-H spectral features. Based on our concentration-dependent results, the imidazolium C-H groups are more sensitive sites for C-H-O than the alkyl C-H groups and the dominant imidazolium C-H species in dilute ionic liquid∕DMSO-d(6) should be assigned to the isolated (or dissociated) structures. As the dilute mixtures were compressed by high pressures, the loss in intensity of the bands attributed to the isolated structures was observed. In other words, high pressure can be used to perturb the association-dissociation equilibrium in the polar region. This result is remarkably different from what is revealed for the imidazolium C-H in the BMM(+)BF(4)(-)∕D(2)O mixtures. DFT-calculations are in agreement with our experimental results indicating that C(4)-H-O and C(5)-H-O interactions seem to play non-negligible roles for BMM(+)BF(4)(-)∕DMSO mixtures.

We have investigated the effect of pressure on imidazolium C-H---O interactions in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide (EMI(+)TFSA(-))/L64 and EMI(+)TFSA(-)/1,4-dioxane mixtures. The addition of Pluronic L64 to EMI(+)TFSA(-) leads to appreciable changes in band frequencies and shapes of the imidazolium C-H stretching bands. A possible explanation is the formation of C-H---O interactions between imidazolium C-H groups and oxygen atoms of polyethylene oxides (PEOs). In other words, L64 can be added to change the relative contribution of the isolated and associated components of EMI(+)TFSA(-). In contrast to L64, the oxygen atoms of 1,4-dioxane cannot perturb the local structures of imidazolium C-H groups of EMI(+)TFSA(-) and the association configuration is still favored in the presence of 1,4-dioxane. As the pressure is elevated, 1,4-dioxane molecules tend to associate with themselves and TFSA(-) interacts with EMI(+) to form associated configurations. Our results suggest the formation of association between EMI(+) cation and L64 and the complexes are stable up to the pressure of 2.5 GPa.