title: Understanding the polarity of ionic liquids.
abstract: The polarities of a wide range of ionic liquids have been determined using the Kamlet-Taft empirical polarity scales α, β and π*, with the dye set Reichardt's Dye, N,N-diethyl-4-nitroaniline and 4-nitroaniline. These have been compared to measurements of these parameters with different dye sets and to different polarity scales. The results emphasise the importance of recognising the role that the nature of the solute plays in determining these scales. It is particularly noted that polarity scales based upon charged solutes can give very different values for the polarity of ionic liquids compared to those based upon neutral probes. Finally, the effects of commonplace impurities in ionic liquids are reported.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ab Rani
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brant
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Crowhurst
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dolan
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lui
authors.forename: N H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Hassan
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Hallett
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Niedermeyer
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Perez-Arlandis
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schrems
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Welton
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wilding
mesh_terms: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D052578:Ionic Liquids / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D052578:Ionic Liquids