I have benzyl-tributyl ammonium chloride and I was wondering if I can use it as a supporting electrolyte with acetonitrile to study redox reactions of benzoquinone.
Just to follow up...tetrabutyl ammonium is a very common cation, but I have seen (and used) perchlorate and hexafluorophosphate as the anion with much greater frequency (TBAP, TBAH). For more nonpolar organics even larger anions [and cations] will be used to enhance solubility and reduce ion pairing interactions.
If I were you, I would first run some CVs just with the tertiary alkylammonium salts of your interest, in the specific electrochemical cell that you will utilise. It can turn out that the electrochemical window with your working (or even the counterelectrode if there is no membrane separating them) is small or non-existing in the operational range in which you want to do the benzoquinone reactions.
If your working electrode is e.g. platinum, chances are high that your IL gets easily oxidized or reduced.
Thank you Xochitl, Jacob and Amal.
Xochitl, I was going to use Pt as counter electrode. Do you have a suggestion for another counter electrode? perhaps glass carbon/graphite? My working electrode is a carbon nanotube sheet.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Chemistry
- Electrochemistry