Spectroscopic study of solvation processes and ionic association in lithium salt solutions with ionic and aprotic solvents

The Raman spectra of the mixtures containing the low-temperature ionic liquid ethylmethylimidazolinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (EMIIm), the salt component lithium bis(trifluoromethylesulfonyl)-imide (LiIm), and the aprotic solvent ethylene carbonate (EC) are studied. It is found that the addition of the lithium salt to the ionic liquid results in the formation of ion pairs or more complex cation-anion aggregates. Dilution of these systems with ethylene carbonate leads to the solvation of lithium ions.