Molecular and ionic diffusion in aqueous – deep eutectic solvent mixtures: probing inter-molecular interactions using PFG NMR

Pulsed field gradient (PFG) NMR has been used to probe self-diffusion of molecular and ionic species in aqueous mixtures of choline chloride (ChCl) based deep eutectic solvents (DESs), in order to elucidate the effect of water on motion and inter-molecular interactions between the different species in the mixtures, namely the Ch+ cation and hydrogen bond donor (HBD). The results reveal an interesting and complex behaviour of such mixtures at a molecular level. In general, it is observed that the hydroxyl protons (1H) of Ch+ and the hydrogen bond donor have diffusion coefficients significantly different from those measured for their parent molecules when water is added. This indicates a clear and significant change in inter-molecular interactions. In aqueous Ethaline, the hydroxyl species of Ch+ and HBD show a stronger interaction with water as water is added to the system. In the case of Glyceline, water has little effect on both hydroxyl proton diffusion of Ch+ and HBD. In Reline, it is likely that water allows the formation of small amounts of ammonium hydroxide. The most surprising observation is from the self-diffusion of water, which is considerably higher that expected from a homogeneous liquid. This leads to the conclusion that Reline and Glyceline form mixtures that are inhomogeneous at a microscopic level despite the hydrophilicity of the salt and HBD. This work shows that PFG NMR is a powerful tool to elucidate both molecular dynamics and inter-molecular interactions in complex liquid mixtures, such as the aqueous DES mixtures.