Ion chromatography as a novel method to quantify the solubility of pyridinium ionic liquids in organic solvents

A validated ion chromatographic method was developed and applied for the determination of the maximum solubility of pyridinium ionic liquids in several aromatic solvents. Elution was performed on a Metrosep C3-150 prototype column at 40°C with acetonitrile-water at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min^-1. Mixtures of pyridinium ionic liquids and aromatic solvents were diluted with acetonitrile and acetone on a 1:1:2 weight base before the analysis. The chromatographic time only took 20 min. The standard curves for both pyridinium ionic liquids ([4-mebupy]BF₄ and [3-mebupy]N(CN)₂) were linear (r² = 0.9980-0.9998) in all aromatic solvents (toluene, benzene, ethylbenzene and o-xylene) in the concentration range of 5.37-241 mg kg^-1. The intraday relative standard deviations (n = 3) for peak areas were 0.60-2.9%. Accuracy in the measurement of samples ranged from 98.5 to 105%. The limit of detection for both pyridinium ionic liquids in all solvents varied between 0.73 and 2.6 mg kg^-1. This assay has been successfully applied in the determination of the maximum solubilities of both pyridinium ionic liquids in several aromatic solvents. This method demonstrated that with increasing aromatic character and/or temperature the solubilities of both investigated pyridinium ILs in the aromatic solvents increase. This is primary caused by the nature of the anion.