Liquid-liquid equilibrium of cholinium-derived bistriflimide ionic liquids with water and octanol.

The liquid-liquid equilibria of mixtures of cholinum-based ionic liquids (N-alkyl-N,N-dimethylhydroxyethylammonium bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonylimide, [N(11n2OH)][Ntf(2)], n = 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) plus water or 1-octanol were investigated at atmospheric pressure over the entire composition range. The experiments were conducted between 265 and 385 K using the cloud-point method. The systems exhibit phase diagrams consistent with the existence of upper critical solution temperatures. The solubility of [N(1 1 n 2OH)][Ntf(2)] in water is lower for cations with longer alkyl side chains (larger n values). The corresponding trend in the octanol mixtures is reversed. The ([N(1 1 1 2OH)][Ntf(2)] + water + octanol) ternary system shows triple liquid-liquid immiscibility at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. A combined analytic/synthetic method was used to estimate the corresponding phase diagram under those conditions. Auxiliary molecular dynamics simulation data were used to interpret the experimental results at a molecular level.