title: Electron photodetachment from iodide in ionic liquids through charge-transfer-to-solvent band excitation.
abstract: Solvation of iodide and electrons in an ionic liquid (N,N,N-trimethyl-n-propylammonium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide; TMPA-TFSI) was studied through the absorption spectra of the charge-transfer-to-solvent (CTTS) state of iodide and of solvated electrons. The interaction between the TMPA cation and iodide was strong, whereas electrons were weakly solvated in TMPA-TFSI. We followed electron photodetachment from iodide to the ionic liquid and formation of the solvated electrons by observing absorption in the visible and near-infrared regions using a nanosecond laser flash photolysis method. The quantum yield of the photodetachment in TMPA-TFSI was estimated to be 0.34, which is much higher than that in a high-concentration aqueous salt solution previously reported. We also examined a reaction of the solvated electrons with the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (Bmim-TFSI) as a solute in TMPA-TFSI. The reaction rate was determined to be 5.3 x 10(8) M(-1) s(-1). The electrons before full solvation (dry electrons) reacted with Bmim cations efficiently. These observations suggest that the electrons in TMPA-TFSI can move easily before solvation.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba Central 5, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8565, Japan. r-katoh@aist.go.jp
authors.forename: Ryuzi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Katoh
authors.forename: Yoichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Yosuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Katsumura
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takahashi