Fragility of Ionic Liquids Measured by Flash Differential Scanning Calorimetry

Ionic liquids are a class of materials that possess attractive properties. They generally have low rates of crystallization due to their bulky and asymmetrical ion structure, and are often considered as good glass-forming materials. In this work, a series of imidazolium-based ionic liquids with varying functionalities from aliphatic to aromatic groups and a fixed anion are characterized using fast scanning differential scanning calorimetry. The limiting fictive temperature Tf', which is equivalent to the glass transition temperature Tg, is measured on heating as a function of cooling rate using Flash differential scanning calorimetry. Different calculation methods are employed and compared for the determination of Tf'. The dynamic fragility is obtained for the series of ionic liquids, and using this data along with a compilation of data from the literature reveals the relationship between molecular structure and fragility for ionic liquids.