Properties of Confined Ammonium Nitrate Ionic Liquids

TL;DR

This study investigates how confinement and magnetic fields influence the diffusivity and phase behavior of ammonium nitrate ionic liquids, revealing reversible changes and phase alterations linked to magnetic exposure.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the magnetic field effects on confined ammonium nitrate ionic liquids and their phase transition behaviors.

Findings

Diffusivity slows under magnetic field and reverses upon removal.

Magnetic field exposure alters residual water state.

Phase transition behaviors depend on magnetic history.

Abstract

Ethylammonium nitrate (EAN) and propylammonium nitrate ionic liquids confined between polar glass plates and exposed to a strong magnetic field demonstrate gradually slowing diffusivity, a process that can be reversed by removing the sample from the magnetic field. The process can be described well by the Avrami equation, which is typical for autocatalytic (particularly, nucleation controlled) processes. The transition can be stopped by freezing the sample. Cooling and heating investigations showed differences in the freezing and melting behavior of the sample depending on whether it had been exposed to the magnetic field. After exposure to the magnetic field, the sample demonstrated a change in the state of residual water. Generally, our findings confirm our previous suggestion that alteration of the dynamic properties of confined ammonium nitrate ionic liquids exposed to a magnetic field is related to the alteration of real physical-chemical phases.