Thermal behavior and electrochemistry of protic ionic liquids based on triethylamine with different acids

Protic ionic liquids (PILs) composed of the triethylammonium cation with dihydrogen phosphite, tosylate, and trifluoroacetate anions were synthesized. All samples were salts with melting points below 100 °C and were characterized via NMR spectroscopy, attenuated total reflection (ATR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetry (TG). The electrochemical characteristics of each protic ionic liquid were obtained using a combination of impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. Moreover, the influence of water on the thermal behavior and conductivity of triethylammonium tosylate is studied. A linear correlation between the temperatures of melting and crystallization is established for a number of PILs, including both derivatives of triethylamine with different acids reported in the literature and the newly synthesized PILs. The optimal combination of thermal characteristics and electroconductivity was observed for triethylammonium trifluoroacetate and tosylate.