The validity of high pressure IR for detecting the interactions between β-cyclodextrin and imidazolium based ionic liquids

The effects of alkyl side-chain length on the interactions between imidazolium ionic liquids (ILs) and beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) were studied at ambient pressure and up to 2.5GPa. No noticeable changes in the C-H band frequencies of 1-methyl-3-propylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([MPIM][PF6]) were observed upon beta-CD addition under ambient pressure. Nevertheless, beta-CD addition inhibited the formation of the [MPIM][PF6] aggregated structure under pressures of <= 0.7 GPa. As the pressure was raised to 1.1-2.5 GPa, [MPIM][PF6] aggregated and formed self-associated configurations. This pressure-induced dissociation was not detected in the 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate and beta-CD mixture ([BMIM][PF6]-beta-CD) due to the long side chain in the [BMIM] cation. This indicates that the alkyl side-chain length of the imidazolium ILs plays a non-negligible role in controlling the order and strength of IL-beta-CD interactions. It is well known that the validity of infrared spectroscopy for detecting the inclusion complexation is questionable in the literature. However, this study demonstrates that the combination of high pressure and IR spectroscopy may provide a suitable way to monitor the IL-beta-CD interactions.