Decreasing the Viscosity in CO2 Capture by Amino-Functionalized Ionic Liquids through the Formation of Intramolecular Hydrogen Bond

A strategy for decreasing the viscosity variation in the process of CO2 capture by amino-functionalized ionic liquids (ILs) through the formation of intramolecular hydrogen bond was reported. Different with the dramatic increase in viscosity during CO2 uptake by traditional amino-functionalized ILs, slight increase or even decrease in viscosity was achieved through introducing a N or O atom as hydrogen acceptor into amino-functionalized anion, which could stabilize the active hydrogen of produced carbamic acid. Quantum chemical calculations and spectroscopic investigations demonstrated that the formation of intramolecular hydrogen bond between introduced hydrogen acceptor and carbamic acid was the key to avoid the dramatic increase in viscosity during the capture of CO2 by these amino-functionalized ILs.