Reactivity Towards Europium(III) of the Radiolysis Products of the Ionic Liquid 1-Methyl-3-butyl-1H-imidazolium Bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl]amide (C4-mimTf2N) and Effect of Water: A TRLFS (Time-Resolved Laser-Induced Fluorescence Spectroscopy) Preliminary Study

The effect of laser irradiation at lambda(exc) 266 nm onto the fluorescence characteristics of Eu-III, in solution of the ionic liquid 1-methyl-3-butyl-1H-imidazolium bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl]amide (C-4-mimTf(2)N) was examined for various amounts of H2O added. Stable radiolytic products that were generated at very low doses (in the range of 4 kGy) were very reactive with Eu-III and led to the appearance of a new europium luminescent species that was characterized by lifetime, relative intensity, and emission spectrum. Although the lifetime and the intensity depended on the H2O content, the emission spectrum was not influenced by H2O It was shown that large amounts of H2O, although not preventing radiolysis of C-4-mimTf(2)N, inhibited the complexation with Eu-III.