Ricerc@Sapienza

The present proposal for a Medium Size Research project focuses on the advancement of knowledge on the role of water as a substantial component in mixtures with salts, leading to two classes of compounds: namely water-based Deep Eutectic Solvents (wDES, where water plays the role of hydrogen bonding donor agent) and water-in-salt (WiS) systems. In both classes of high impact solvent media, water¿s polar nature and its strong hydrogen bonding donor and acceptor capability are envisaged to play a major role in affecting and driving macroscopic performances.

These systems will be characterized using state of the art experimental (X-ray/Neutron scattering, NMR, IR and Raman spectroscopies etc.) and computational (Molecular Dynamics) methods, in order to extract atomistically resolved information on the nature of interactions involved in these interesting media. The synergic nature of this multidisciplinary approach will ensure a robust and accurate determination of water role in driving structure.

wDES will be prepared mixing water with different choline-based salts, to achieve low melting point at stoichiometric ratios. The structural properties of these systems will be explored and their capability to act as solvent for carbohydrates will be tested.
WiS will be prepared with different di-perfluoroalkyl-sulfonimide, lithium or sodium salts, to probe their phase diagram. Suitably selected WiS will be studied at structural level and electrochemical properties will be investigated.

The proposing team has well-established reputation in the exploitation of the different complementary techniques for such a task that guarantees the success of the proposed research plan.