The alkyl chain length of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl)imide ([Rmim][(CF(3)SO(2))(2)N], R = methyl (m), ethyl (e), butyl (b), hexyl (C(6)), and octyl (C(8))) was varied to prepare a series of room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs), and the thermal behavior, density, viscosity, self-diffusion coefficients of the cation and anion, and ionic conductivity were measured over a wide temperature range. The self-diffusion coefficient, viscosity, ionic conductivity, and molar conductivity change with temperature following the Vogel-Fulcher-Tamman equation, and the density shows a linear decrease. The pulsed-field-gradient spin-echo NMR method reveals a higher self-diffusion coefficient for the cation compared to that for the anion over a wide temperature range, even if the cationic radius is larger than that of the anion. The summation of the cationic and anionic diffusion coefficients for the RTILs follows the order [emim][(CF(3)SO(2))(2)N] > [mmim][(CF(3)SO(2))(2)N] > [bmim][(CF(3)SO(2))(2)N] > [C(6)mim][(CF(3)SO(2))(2)N] > [C(8)mim][(CF(3)SO(2))(2)N], which greatly contrasts to the viscosity data. The ratio of molar conductivity obtained from impedance measurements to that calculated by the ionic diffusivity using the Nernst-Einstein equation quantifies the active ions contributing to ionic conduction in the diffusion components, in other words, ionicity of the ionic liquids. The ratio decreases with increasing number of carbon atoms in the alkyl chain. Finally, a balance between the electrostatic and induction forces has been discussed in terms of the main contribution factor in determining the physicochemical properties.

Room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) are liquids consisting entirely of ions, and their important properties, e.g., negligible vapor pressure, are considered to result from the ionic nature. However, we do not know how ionic the RTILs are. The ionic nature of the RTILs is defined in this study as the molar conductivity ratio (Lambda(imp)/Lambda(NMR)), calculated from the molar conductivity measured by the electrochemical impedance method (Lambda(imp)) and that estimated by use of pulse-field-gradient spin-echo NMR ionic self-diffusion coefficients and the Nernst-Einstein relation (Lambda(NMR)). This ratio is compared with solvatochromic polarity scales: anionic donor ability (Lewis basicity), E(T)(30), hydrogen bond donor acidity (alpha), and dipolarity/polarizability (pi), as well as NMR chemical shifts. The Lambda(imp)/Lambda(NMR) well illustrates the degree of cation-anion aggregation in the RTILs at equilibrium, which can be explained by the effects of anionic donor and cationic acceptor abilities for the RTILs having different anionic and cationic backbone structures with fixed counterparts, and by the inductive and dispersive forces for the various alkyl chain lengths in the cations. As a measure of the electrostatic interaction of the RTILs, the effective ionic concentration (C(eff)), which is a dominant parameter for the electrostatic forces of the RTILs, was introduced as the product of Lambda(imp)/Lambda(NMR) and the molar concentration and was compared with some physical properties, such as reported normal boiling points and distillation rates, glass transition temperature, and viscosity. A decrease in C(eff) of the RTILs is well correlated with the normal boiling point and distillation rate, whereas the liquid-state dynamics is controlled by a subtle balance between the electrostatic and other intermolecular forces.

Two different electrolyte salts, lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI), and a room temperature ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (EMITFSI), were incorporated into network polymers to obtain ion-conductive polymer electrolytes. Network polymers of poly(ethylene oxide-co-propylene oxide) (P(EO/PO)) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were chosen as matrixes for LiTFSI and EMITFSI, respectively. Both of the polymer electrolytes were single-phase materials and were completely amorphous. Ionic conductivity of the polymer electrolytes was measured over a wide temperature range, with the lowest temperatures close to or below the glass transition temperatures (Tg). The Arrhenius plots of the conductivity for both of the systems exhibited positively curved profiles and could be well fit to the Vogel-Tamman-Fulcher (VTF) equation. The conductivity of the PMMA/EMITFSI electrolytes was higher at most by 3 orders of magnitude than that of the LiTFSI/P(EO/ PO) electrolytes at ambient temperature. When the ideal glass transition temperature, T0 (one of the VTF fitting parameters), was compared with the Tg, a difference in the ionic conduction was apparent in these systems. In the P(EO/PO)/LiTFSI electrolytes, the T0 and Tg increased in parallel with salt concentration and the T0 was lower than the Tg by ca. 50 degrees C. On the contrary, the difference between the T0 and the Tg increased with increasing content of PMMA in the PMMA/EMITFSI electrolytes, with the observed difference in the concentration range studied reaching up to ca. 100 degrees C. The conductivity at the Tg, sigma(Tg), for the LiTFSI/P(EO/PO) electrolytes was on the order of 10(-14-)10(-13) S cm(-1) and increased with increasing salt concentration, whereas that for the PMMA/EMITFSI polymer electrolytes reached 10(-7) S cm(-1) when the concentration of PMMA was high. The ion transport mechanism was discussed in terms of the concepts of coupling/decoupling and strong/fragile for the two different polymer electrolytes.