No CrossRef data available.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 February 2011
Electronic structures of the ionic liquids were studied by ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS) and inverse photoemission spectroscopy (IPES). The sample materials contain 1-buthyl-3-alkylimidazolium ion [Cnmim]+ (n=4, 8, 10) as the cation in combination with fluorine-containing anions (tetrafluoroboronate BF4 −, hexafluorophosphate PF6 −). Comparing the calculated density of states with the observed spectra, we found that the ionization thresholds of these ionic liquids are determined by the highest occupied molecular orbitals (HOMO) of the cation, although the calculated HOMOs of the isolated anions are higher than that of isolated cation. The combination of the UPS and IPES results reveals that the band gaps of these ionic liquids are determined by only cation.