An XAFS Study of Tantalum Chloride in the Ionic Liquid 1-Ethyl-3-Methyl Imidazolium Chloride/Aluminum Chloride

Abstract

Tantalum chloride was studied with extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (XAFS) in acidic and basic aluminum chloride/1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazolium chloride ionic liquids (ILs). Anhydrous Ta2Cl10 is more soluble in the basic solution than in the acidic solution and the X-ray absorption data shows that the coordination shell of chlorides around the tantalum is larger in the basic solution. In the acidic solution, tantalum has five chlorides in its coordination shell while in the basic solution; the tantalum is coordinated by seven chlorides. This indicates that the Lewis acidity of the tantalum chloride causes the Ta to coordinate differently in the acidic and the basic solutions.