Comparing the thermal and electrochemical stabilities of two structurally similar ionic liquids

Journal article, 2020

Here we focus on the thermal and variable temperature electrochemical stabilities of two ionic liquids (ILs) having a common tributyloctyl phosphonium cation [P4,4,4,8]+ and two different orthoborate anions: bis(mandelato)borate [BMB]− and bis(salicylato)borate [BScB]−. The thermogravimetric analysis data suggest that [P4,4,4,8][BScB] is thermally more stable than [P4,4,4,8][BMB] in both nitrogen atmosphere and air, while the impedance spectroscopy reveals that [P4,4,4,8][BScB] has higher ionic conductivity than [P4,4,4,8][BMB] over the whole studied temperature range. In contrast, the electrochemical studies confirm that [P4,4,4,8][BMB] is more stable and exhibits a wider electrochemical stability window (ESW) on a glassy carbon electrode surface as compared to [P4,4,4,8][BScB]. A continuous decrease in the ESWs of both ILs is observed as a function of operation temperature.