Abstract
Ionic liquids (ILs) are salts composed of an anion and an organic cation with a melting point below 100°C. They are promising solvents for the electrolytic separation of lanthanide elements. However, in order to develop such processes, experimental data is still needed. A bibliographic study highlighted important physico-chemical properties of these media which allowed to chose appropriate ILs and anticipate their electrochemical behavior. Ionic liquids composed of quartenary ammonium cations and the bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (NTf2) anion were chosen for their low viscosity, high conductivity and wide electrochemical window.First of all, the electrochemical behavior of the neat ionic liquid N,N-trimethylbutylammonium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide ([N4111][NTf2]) at platinum, gold and glassy carbon electrodes was studied. Surface phenomena similar to those observed in aqueous H2SO4 solutions are observed at gold and platinum electrodes before the solvent oxidation potential (from 2.3 V vs Fc+/Fc onwards). The respective roles of water concentration and acidity on these reactions were studied. The formation of an oxide layer and the oxidation of water both generate protons. The reduction of the oxide layer on reversal scan forms an activated metallic surface on which protons can adsorb and be reduced to H2.Eu(III)/Eu(II) and Ce(IV)/Ce(III) redox couples were the studied in the more conductive 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide ionic liquid ([EMIm][NTf2]). Thermodynamic and kinetic data were obtained. Europium was shown to be quite stable in its divalent state. Coupling electrochemical and spectroscopic techniques (UV-Visible, Time Resolved Fluorescence Spectroscopy, X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy…) enabled the acquisition of structural data concerning the complexes formed in solution at different oxidation states. Once again, the effect of water concentration in the ionic liquid was closely monitored. In the case of cerium, the influence of chloride and acetate ions addition on the stability of the +IV oxidation state was studied. The experiments conducted are a first step towards the understanding of the electrolysis mechanism for these elements.