Water electrolysis: an excellent approach for the removal of water from ionic liquids

Abstract

An electrochemical system based on platinum cathode and glassy carbon anode was assembled for a successful removal of water from ionic liquids via the water electrolysis strategy.

Analysis of water in room temperature ionic liquids by linear sweep, differential pulse and square wave cathodic stripping voltammetries

“…It is difficult to keep an absolutely dry RTIL outside of a glove box without the use of methodologies such as electrolysis processes [16] or the addition of drying materials such as [41,49]. Therefore, a really dry standard of pure ionic liquid is not easily available under these conditions, and its use would be totally impractical due to water absorption by RTIL from the atmosphere [50].…”

“…However, this process does not allow one to determine the amount of water that the RTIL will capture due to handling or storage. Furthermore, various solutes of interest with redox properties might be electrolyzed before water [16]. Water sorption in RTILs has been measured by gravimetric methods, but the exact content of water in the RTILs cannot be determined and the measurement chamber described is not suitable for electrochemical purposes [17].…”

Revisiting the electrochemical formation, stability and structure of radical and biradical anionic structures in dinitrobenzenes

“…For instance, the reduction of molecules bearing two nitro groups has gained attention in recent years [5][6][7][8] mainly due to the effects occurring in the stabilization of the corresponding electrogenerated radical anions by interacting groups present in the structure, since this phenomenon is known to be dependent on the environment surrounding the radical anion and on the method employed for its formation [6][7][8][9]. This issue is relevant, in biological and pharmacological terms, once the stability of the electrogenerated radical species is related to the capacity of these species to induce the formation of reactive oxygen species, in the presence of oxygen and after reduction [2][3][4][10][11][12] that in vivo or in cell occurs via the action of nitroreductases [2,11,12].…”

The Electrode/Ionic Liquid Interface: Electric Double Layer and Metal Electrodeposition

“…This would degrade the properties of ionic liquids with reduced electrochemical windows [40,41] and possibly introduce problems to the systems under investigation. To reduce the water content to an acceptably low degree, electrolysis [42] or absorption by molecular sieves [43] may be applied. Furthermore, prior to each use, ionic liquids should be heated at 70-80 8C under vacuum for several hours with stirring.…”