Studies of ionic liquid solutions by soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy

Soft X-ray spectroscopies give specific information about the electronic structure around light elements. The high absorption of soft X-rays by almost every molecule, including air, requires studies under vacuum, which represents a great limitation. Solids with high vapor pressure and liquids are very difficult to be studied, making solution chemistry almost neglected. This work explores the use of ionic liquids, organic liquids with very low vapor pressure, as media to study chemical solutions using soft X-ray. N 1s spectra are reported of ionic liquid solutions of 1-methyl-3alkyl-imidazolium cation with different anions and chain lengths, and urea/choline chloride mixtures (a deep eutectic solvent) with several solutes including dyes (Janus Green B and Congo Red), synthetic polymers (polyaniline) and nitrate salts. While there are significant problems with the signal of the solvent, the results do show that it is possible to detect solute signals, and further to see spectral changes attributed to solvent-solute interactions.