Solution and thermal behaviour of novel dicationic imidazolium ionic liquids.

A new class of functionalised dicationic ionic liquids, containing a central cationic unit capped by a basic functionality (imidazole), has been synthesised. These salts have been characterised in isotropic solution using proton and 2D-NMR spectroscopy, and their thermal stability has been studied by DSC and TGA. All these novel salts contain the 1-(1-imidazolylmethyl)-3,5-di{1-(3'-octylimidazolylmethyl)}-benzene cation as a defining structural motif. Salts of both singly and doubly charged anions were prepared and, in particular, the selected monoanions (Br(-), [BF4](-), or [NTf2](-)) differ in size, shape and hydrogen-bonding ability, whereas the dianions differ in the nature of the spacer, such as 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate, 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylate, 1,5- and 2,6-naphthalenedisulfonate, 1,4-butanedicarboxylate, and 1,6-hexanedicarboxylate. These ionic liquids exhibit the presence of different conformers in solution, whose distribution is affected by the nature of the anion. The nature of the anion also affects their thermal stability.