Dielectric relaxation and underlying dynamics of acetonitrile and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium triflate mixtures using THz transmission spectroscopy

We use terahertz (THz) transmission spectroscopy to obtain the frequency dependent complex dielectric functions for pure acetonitrile, pure 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium triflate (emim triflate, a room temperature molten salt), and mixtures of the two liquids. The behavior of the pure liquids is modeled with either two (acetonitrile) or three (emim triflate) Debye relaxations. We then discuss the interactions of the molten salt and solvent based on the modified Debye relaxations evident in the mixtures. We determine that at low molten salt concentrations, the mixtures behave like electrolyte solutions of a crystalline salt dissolved in a solvent. At higher molten salt concentrations, the behavior is that of a mixture of two liquids.