S. I. Lall-Ramnarine, A. Castano, G. Subramaniam, M. F. Thomas and J. F. Wishart
Radiat. Phys. Chem., 78, 1120-1125 (2009). [Find paper at Elsevier Science Direct]
Abstract:
Previously unreported bis(oxalato)borate (BOB) ionic liquids (ILs) containing imidazolium, pyridinium and pyrrolidinium cations were prepared from the corresponding halide salts by reaction with NaBOB, and their properties are reported. Pulse radiolysis experiments revealed that the BOB anion scavenges solvated electrons with rate constants of ~3 x 108 M-1 s-1 in the ionic liquid C4mpyrr NTf2 and 2.8 x 107 M-1 s-1 in water. This reactivity indicates that BOB ILs may be too sensitive to be used as neat solvents for nuclear separations processes in high radiation fields but may still be useful for preventing criticality while processing relatively "cold" fissile actinides.