TY - JOUR TI - Ion dynamics of ethylammonium nitrate by means of Quasielastic neutron scattering DO - https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-fbnx-je88 PY - 2018 AB - Ionic Liquids (ILs) are salts with a melting point below 100 ˚C. In recent years, ILs have garnered popular interest in academia and industry due to their unique properties and heterogeneous solvent nanostructure. In this Thesis, the solvent dynamics of one of the oldest, and most widely used ILs, ethylammonium nitrate (EAN) is examined using Quasi-Elastic Neutron Scattering (QENS) with H/D isotopic substitution. The data is fitted using analytical diffusions models and Bayesian statistics. The results show that long range cation motion in ILs is consistent with unrestricted (Fickian) translational diffusion. The measured cation diffusion coefficient of 3.96 × 10-11 m2/s (298 K) is comparable to other self-assembled systems and two orders of magnitude slower than for molecular liquids (e.g. water @ 292 K, D = 2.36 × 10-9 m2/s). The activation energy for all diffusion processes was independent of IL solvent within QENS instrument resolution and shown to follow Arrhenius dependence with temperature. These results demonstrate that long-range ion mobility in ILs is likely linked to revelations of long-range solvent nanostructure. KW - Chemistry and Chemical Biology KW - Quasielastic neutron scattering LA - eng ER -