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In this study, we investigated the water concentration dependence of the intermolecular vibrations of two hydrated ionic liquids (ILs), cholinium dihydrogen phosphate ([ch][dhp]) and cholinium bromide ([ch]Br), using femtosecond Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy (fs-RIKES). The anions of the former and latter hydrated ILs are kosmotropic and chaotropic, respectively. We found that the spectral peak of ∼50 cm -1 shifted to the low-frequency side in hydrated [ch][dhp], indicating the weakening of its intermolecular interactions. In contrast, no change in the peak frequency of the low-frequency band at ∼50 cm -1 was observed with increasing water concentration in hydrated [ch]Br. The vibrational density of states (VDOS) spectra generated from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were in qualitative agreement with the experimental results. Decomposition analysis of the VDOS spectra for each component revealed that the red shift of the low-frequency band in the hydrated [ch][dhp] upon water addition was essentially due to the contributions of anions and water rather than that of the cholinium cation. We also found from the low-frequency spectra of the two hydrated ILs that they differed in the concentration dependence of the 180 cm -1 band, which is assigned as a hindered translational motion of water molecules combined to form O···O stretching motions. From the relationship between the peak frequency of the low-frequency band and the bulk parameter, which is the square root of the surface tension divided by the density, we found that the peak frequency in the hydrated IL with kosmotropic [dhp] - depends on the bulk parameter, similar to the case for an aqueous solution of the typical deep eutectic solvent reline. However, the peak frequency of the hydrated IL with chaotropic Br - is constant with the bulk parameter.

Ionic liquid viscosity is one of the most important properties to consider for practical applications. Yet, the connection between local structure and viscosity remains an open question. This article explores the structural origin of differences in the viscosity and viscoelastic relaxation across several ionic liquids, including cations with alkyl, ether, and thioether tails, of the imidazolium and pyrrolidinium families coupled with the NTf 2 - anion. In all cases, for the systems studied here, we find that pyrrolidinium-based ions are "harder" than their imidazolium-based counterparts. We make a connection between the chemical concept of hardness vs softness and specific structural and structural dynamic quantities that can be derived from scattering experiments and simulations.

The microscopic aspects of 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([MOIm][BF 4 ]) mixtures with formamide (FA), N -methylformamide (NMF), and N , N -dimethylformamide (DMF) were investigated using spectroscopic techniques of femtosecond Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy (fs-RIKES), FT-IR, and NMR. Molecular dynamics simulations and quantum chemistry calculations were also performed. According to fs-RIKES, the first moment of the low-frequency spectrum bands mainly originating from the intermolecular vibrations in the [MOIm][BF 4 ]/FA and [MOIm][BF 4 ]/DMF systems changed gradually with the molecular liquid mole fraction X ML but that in the [MOIm][BF 4 ]/NMF system was constant up to X NMF = 0.7 and then gradually increased in the range of X NMF ≥ 0.7. Excluding the contribution of the 2D hydrogen-bonding network due to the presence of FA in the low-frequency spectrum band, the X ML dependence of the normalized first moment of the low-frequency band in the [MOIm][BF 4 for the three mixtures due to the hydrogen bonds. The imidazolium ring C-H band also showed a similar tendency to the amide C═O band. 4 ]/NMF systems revealed that the normalized first moment did not remarkably change in the range of X ML < 0.7 but drastically increased in X ML ≥ 0.7. FT-IR results indicated that the amide C═O band shifted to the low-frequency side with increasing X ML for the three mixtures due to the hydrogen bonds. The imidazolium ring C-H band also showed a similar tendency to the amide C═O band. 19 F NMR probed the microenvironment of [BF 4 ] - in the mixtures. The [MOIm][BF 4 ]/NMF and [MOIm][BF 4 ]/DMF systems showed an up-field shift of the F atoms of the anion with increasing X ML , and the [MOIm][BF 4 ]/FA system exhibited a down-field shift. Steep changes in the chemical shifts were confirmed in the region of X ML > 0.8. On the basis of the quantum chemistry calculations, the observed chemical shifts with increasing X ML were mainly attributed to the many-body interactions of ions and amides for the [MOIm][BF 4 ]/FA and [MOIm][BF 4 ]/DMF systems. Meanwhile, the long distance between the cation and the anion was due to the high dielectric medium for the [MOIm][BF 4 ]/NMF system, which led to an up-field shift.

This study compared the physical properties, e.g., glass transition temperature, melting point, viscosity, density, surface tension, and electrical conductivity, and the low-frequency spectra under 200 cm -1 of three synthesized ionic liquids (ILs), triethylpentylphosphonium bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide ([P 2225 ][NF 2 ]), ethoxyethyltriethylphosphonium bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide ([P 222(2O2) ][NF 2 ]), and triethyl[2-(ethylthio)ethyl]phosphonium bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide ([P 222(2S2) ][NF 2 ]), at various temperatures using femtosecond Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy (fs-RIKES) and terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). The [P 222(2S2) ][NF 2 ] had the highest viscosity and glass transition temperature, whereas the [P 222(2O2) ][NF 2 ] had the lowest. Among the three ILs, the [P 222(2S2) ][NF 2 ] had the highest density and surface tension, and the [P 222(2O2) ][NF 2 ] had the highest electrical conductivity. The RIKES and THz-TDS spectral line shapes for the three ILs varied significantly. For the [P 2225 ][NF 2 ], molecular dynamics simulations successfully reproduced the line shapes of the experimental spectra and indicated that the RIKES spectrum was mainly due to the cation and cross-term and their rotational motions, whereas the THz-TDS spectrum was mainly due to the anion and its translational motion. This shows that it is desirable to utilize both fs-RIKES and THz-TDS methods to reveal molecular motions at the low-frequency domain. The [P 222(2S2) ][NF 2 ] had higher frequency peaks and broader bands in the low-frequency spectra via fs-RIKES and THz-TDS than those for the [P 2225 ][NF 2 ] and [P 222(2O2) ][NF 2 ].

In this study, we investigated the temperature dependence of intermolecular vibrations and orientational dynamics in the aqueous solutions of imidazole hydrochloride, imidazole, sodium triazolide, and triazole using femtosecond Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy (fs-RIKES) and steady-state Raman spectroscopy. The difference low-frequency Raman spectra under 250 cm -1 of the aqueous solutions relative to the neat water showed that the spectral shoulder in the high-frequency region at 60-100 cm -1 , assigned to the libration of an aromatic ring, was higher in frequency for the imidazolium cation but lower for the triazolide anion than those of the respective neutral aromatics. The results of the ab initio quantum chemistry calculations of the clusters of the aromatics and water molecule(s) were consistent with the experimental spectra of the aqueous solutions. Further, the results of the temperature-dependent experiments showed that the signal intensity in the low-frequency region below 50 cm -1 increased for all solutions with an increase in temperature. In contrast, the spectral density in the high-frequency region above 80 cm -1 exhibited almost no shift for the 1.0 M solutions, while a significant red shift was observed for the 5.0 M solutions. In addition, the temperature-dependent densities, viscosities, and surface tensions were characterized for the aqueous aromatic solutions from 293 to 353 K.

We investigated the intermolecular dynamics and static structure in the aqueous solutions of lidocaine hydrochloride (LDHCl) in the concentration range of [LDHCl] = 0-2.00 M using femtosecond Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy (fs-RIKES), small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SWAXS), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). For the fs-RIKES experiments, the concentration dependence of the difference low-frequency spectra of the aqueous LDHCl solutions relative to the neat water, which was mainly due to the intermolecular vibrations, was characterized using an exponential function with a characteristic concentration of ∼1 M. For the SWAXS experiments, we observed a manifestation of an excess scattering component centered within a range of 8-10 nm -1 in the aqueous LDHCl solutions. The results of Fourier inversion and further deconvolution analyses unambiguously demonstrated that lidocaines assemble into a nanometer-sized micelle-like structure with the innermost core (∼0.3 nm) and outer shell (∼0.5 nm), respectively. The DLS experiments also found nanometer-sized aggregates and further indicated evidence of the clusters of the aggregates. The results of viscosities, densities, and surface tensions of the solutions and the quantum chemistry calculations supported the unique features of the microscopic intermolecular interaction and the micelle-like aggregation.

The mixing states of two imidazolium-based ionic liquids (ILs) with different anions, 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (C 8 mimBF 4 ) and bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide (C 8 mimTFSA), with three molecular liquids (MLs), methanol (MeOH), acetonitrile (AN), and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), have been investigated on both mesoscopic and microscopic scales using small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), infrared (IR), and 1 H and 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Additionally, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been conducted on the six combinations of ILs and MLs to observe the states of their mixtures on the atomic level. The SANS profiles of the IL-ML mixtures suggested that MeOH molecules only form clusters in both C 8 mimBF 4 and C 8 mimTFSA, whereas AN and DMSO were homogeneously mixed with ILs on the SANS scale. MeOH clusters are more enhanced in BF 4 - -IL than TFSA - -IL. The microscopic interactions among IL cations, anions, and MLs should contribute to the mesoscopic mixing states of the IL-ML mixtures. In fact, the IL cation-anion, cation-ML, anion-ML, and ML-ML interactions observed by IR, NMR, and MD simulations clarified the reasons for the mixing states of the IL-ML binary solutions observed by the SANS experiments. In neat ILs, the imidazolium ring of the IL cation more strongly interacts with BF 4 - than TFSA - due to the higher charge density of the former. The interaction of anions with the imidazolium ring is more easily loosened on adding MLs to ILs in the order of DMSO > MeOH > AN. It does not significantly depend on the anions. However, the replacement of the anion on the imidazolium ring by an ML depends on the anions; the replacement is more proceeded in the order of MeOH > DMSO > AN in BF 4 - -IL, while DMSO > MeOH > AN in TFSA - -IL. On the other hand, the solvation of both anions by MLs is stronger in the order of MeOH > DMSO ≈ AN. Despite the stronger interactions of MeOH with both cations and anions, MeOH molecules are heterogeneously mixed with both ILs to form clusters in the mixtures. Therefore, the self-hydrogen bonding among MeOH molecules most markedly governs the mixing state of the binary solutions among the abovementioned interactions.

This is the first report on low-frequency spectra of ionic liquid (IL)/polymer mixtures using femtosecond Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy. We studied mixtures of 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([MOIm][BF 4 ]) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) with M n = 400 (PEG400) at various concentrations. To elucidate the unique features of the IL/polymer mixture system, mixtures of PEG400 with a molecular liquid, 1-octhylimidazole (OIm), which is a neutral analog of the cation, were also studied. In addition, mixtures of [MOIm][BF 4 ] with ethylene glycol (EG) and poly(ethylene glycol) with M n = 4000 (PEG4000) were also investigated. The first moments of broad low-frequency spectra, mainly due to intermolecular vibrations for the [MOIm][BF 4 ]/PEG400 and OIm/PEG400, increased slightly with increasing concentration of PEG400, indicating that microscopic intermolecular interactions, in general, are slightly enhanced. We also compared the [MOIm][BF 4 ] mixtures with EG, PEG400, and PEG4000 at concentrations of 5 and 10 wt % PEG or EG. The low-frequency spectra of samples with the same concentrations were quite similar, but a comparison of the normalized spectra showed that the spectral intensity in the low-frequency region below ∼50 cm -1 of the [MOIm][BF 4 ] mixtures with PEG400 and PEG4000 is somewhat lower than that of the [MOIm][BF 4 ] mixtures with EG. Although the effect of the polymer is small compared to other polymer solution systems, this feature is attributed to a suppression of translational motion in the mixtures of [MOIm][BF 4 ] with PEG compared to the mixtures of [MOIm][BF 4 ] with EG due to the greater mass of PEG than EG. Density, surface tension, viscosity, and electrical conductivity were also estimated. From Walden plots, it was found that the [MOIm][BF 4 ]/PEG4000 system showed more ideal electrical conductive behavior than the [MOIm][BF 4 ]/PEG400 and [MOIm][BF 4 ]/EG systems.

In this study, we examined the low-frequency spectra of 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([MOIm][BF 4 ]) mixtures with methanol (MeOH), acetonitrile (MeCN), and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), which were obtained by femtosecond Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy (fs-RIKES) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. In addition, we estimated the liquid properties of the mixtures, such as density ρ, surface tension γ, viscosity η, and electrical conductivity σ. The line shapes of the low-frequency Kerr spectra of the three [MOIm][BF 4 ] mixture systems strongly depend on the mole fraction of the molecular liquid, X ML . The spectral intensity increases with increasing X ML of the [MOIm][BF 4 ]/MeCN system but decreases for the [MOIm][BF 4 ]/MeOH and [MOIm][BF 4 ]/DMSO systems. These behaviors of the spectral intensities reasonably agree with the vibrational density-of-states spectra when the polarizability anisotropies of MeOH, MeCN, DMSO, and ion species are considered. The characteristic frequencies (first moments, M 1 ) of the low-frequency spectra of the three mixture systems are almost insensitive at X ML = 0-0.6. However, the frequencies vary mildly at X ML = 0.6-0.9 and dramatically at X ML = 0.9-1. The X ML -dependent M 1 in the Kerr spectra are well reproduced by the MD simulations. Plots of M 1 versus bulk parameter, ( γ/ρ ) 1/2 , for the three mixture systems show that the mixtures at X ML = 0-0.6 behave like aromatic cation-based ionic liquids (ILs), those at X ML = 0.9-1 are molecular liquids (MLs), and those at X ML = 0.6-0.9 are transitioning between aromatic cation-based ILs and MLs. MD simulations show that the solvent molecules localized at the interface between the ionic and the alkyl group regions without forming large solvent networks at X ML = 0-0.6. However, solvent networks or regions develop largely at X ML = 0.6-0.9 and the constituent ions of the IL disperse in the MLs at X ML = 0.9-1. The MD simulations corroborate the results obtained by fs-RIKES.

In this study, the low-frequency vibrational dynamics of polystyrene (PS) in CCl 4 was investigated by femtosecond Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy. Ethylbenzene (EBz) was also investigated as a model monomer of the polymer to elucidate the unique dynamical features of PS in solution. The broadened low-frequency spectrum of the PS/CCl 4 in the frequency region below 150 cm -1 is significantly different from that of the EBz/CCl 4 . Difference spectra between the PS or EBz solutions and neat CCl 4 , normalized to an internal vibrational mode of CCl 4 , clearly show a much lower spectral intensity for the PS/CCl 4 than the EBz/CCl 4 in the low-frequency region below ca. 20 cm -1 . This indicates that translational motions are suppressed in the PS/CCl 4 compared to the EBz/CCl 4 . Moreover, the high-frequency motion at ca. 70 cm -1 , mainly due to phenyl ring librations, occurs at higher frequency in PS (78 cm -1 ) than EBz (65 cm -1 ). In addition, the results of concentration-dependent experiments show that the first moment ( M 1 ) of the low-frequency difference spectra of both PS/CCl 4 and EBz/CCl 4 is almost independent of the concentration. The molecular weight dependence of the low-frequency spectrum in the PS/CCl 4 shows that the M 1 value of the low-frequency spectral band of PS shifts to higher frequencies when the molecular weight of PS increases up to M w = ∼1000, which corresponds approximately to the decamer, and then remains constant upon further increasing the molecular weight.

We investigated the temperature dependence of the intermolecular vibrational dynamics of pyrrolidinium-based ionic liquids (ILs) with 10 different anion species using femtosecond Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy. The features of the temperature-dependent vibrational spectra vary with the different anions. In the case of the ILs with spherical top anions, such as tetrafluoroborate and hexafluorophosphate, and trifluoromethanesulfonate, the spectral intensity in the low-frequency region below 50 cm -1 increases with rising temperature, while that in the high-frequency region above 50 cm -1 remains almost unchanged. Similar temperature-dependent features were also found in the bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide and bis(perfluoroalkylsulfonyl)amide salts. However, the difference spectra at respective temperature relative to 293 K indicate that the spectra of the bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide and bis(perfluoroalkylsulfonyl)amide salts are more temperature-sensitive in the low-frequency region below 50 cm -1 compared to those of the tetrafluoroborate, hexafluorophosphate, and trifluoromethanesulfonate salts. The spectra of 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium-based ILs with dicyanamide and tricyanomethide anions show a characteristic temperature dependence; in addition to an increase of the spectral intensity in the low-frequency region below 50 cm -1 , a red shift of the spectra in the high-frequency side above 50 cm -1 was observed with increasing temperature. This implies that the librational motions of planar dicyanamide and tricyanomethide anions contribute substantially to the low-frequency spectra. We also compared the temperature-dependent low-frequency spectra of 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium- and 1-(2-methoxyethyl)-1-methylpyrrolidinium-based ILs with some anions. Although the spectral shapes are slightly different in the range of 70-150 cm -1 , which can be attributed to the intramolecular vibrational modes of the cations, the temperature dependence of the spectral shapes is quite similar, indicating that the ether substitution in the cation side groups has little effects on the temperature dependence of the low-frequency spectra. The fragilities of the ILs were also estimated from the temperature-dependent viscosities and the glass-transition temperatures. The fragility parameter seems to be correlated with the temperature dependence of the first moment of the low-frequency spectral bands mainly arising from the intermolecular vibrations of the ILs.

In this study, we have investigated the effects of cation structures on the temperature dependence of the intermolecular vibrational dynamics of ionic liquids using femtosecond Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy. The ionic liquids used in this study are bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide [NTf 2 ] - salts of the cations 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium [C 4 MIm] + , 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium [Pyrr 14 ] + , 1-butylpyridinium [C 4 Py] + , butyldiethylmethylammonium [N 1224 ] + , triethyloctylammonium [N 2228 ] + , and triethyloctylphosphonium [P 2228 ] + . All of the ionic liquids show temperature-dependent low-frequency spectra. A difference in the temperature dependence between the spectra of the aromatic and nonaromatic cation based ionic liquids is especially significant. In the case of the aromatic cation based ionic liquids [C 4 MIm][NTf 2 ] and [C 4 Py][NTf 2 ], the spectral intensities in the low-frequency region below ca. 50 cm -1 increase and the high-frequency components at ca. 80 cm -1 shift to lower frequencies with rising temperature. In contrast, the ionic liquids based on nonaromatic cations only exhibit an increase in the low-frequency region below ca. 50 cm -1 with increasing temperature, while the high-frequency region of the spectra above ca. 50 cm -1 shows little change with variation of the temperature. These results suggest that the presence or absence of aromatic rings is the main factor in determining the temperature-dependent spectral features, particularly in the high-frequency region. We also found that the alkyl chain length and central atoms of the nonaromatic quaternary cations do not have much influence on the temperature-dependent spectral features. The first moments of the aromatic cation based ionic liquids are a little more sensitive to temperature than those of the nonaromatic cation based ionic liquids. The temperature-dependent viscosities and fragilities of the ionic liquids have also been examined.

The temperature dependence of the intermolecular vibrational dynamics in imidazolium-based ionic liquids (ILs) with 10 different anions was studied by femtosecond Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy. For all ILs investigated in this study, the intensity in the low-frequency region below 50 cm -1 increases, and the spectral density in the high-frequency region above 80 cm -1 decreases (and shows a redshift) with increasing temperature. The first phenomenon would be attributed to the activation of the translational vibrational motions, whereas the second one is ascribed to the slowing librational motion of the imidazolium ring with increasing temperature. Calculated spectra of the density of states for the intermolecular vibrations of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, which is one of the experiment samples studied here, obtained by molecular dynamics simulation agreed well with the experimental results and confirmed the spectral assignments. When we compared the difference spectra between spectra measured at various temperatures and the spectrum measured at 293 K, a clear difference was found in the ∼50 cm -1 region of the Kerr spectra of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium thiocyanate and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide from those of the other ILs. The difference might have originated from the librational motions of the corresponding anions. We also compared the temperature-dependent Kerr spectra of hexafluorophosphate salts of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium, 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium, and 1-heptyl-3-methylimidazolium cations. These ILs showed a similar temperature dependence, which was not affected by the alkyl group length. The temperature-dependent viscosities and glass transition temperatures of the ILs were also estimated to determine their fragilities.

The microscopic aspects of the two series of mixtures of 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([MOIm][BF4])-benzene and 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide ([MOIm][NTf2])-benzene were investigated by several spectroscopic techniques such as attenuated total reflectance IR (ATR-IR), NMR, and fs-Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy (fs-RIKES). All three different spectroscopic results indicate that the anions more strongly interact with the cations in the [MOIm][BF4]-benzene mixtures than in the [MOIm][NTf2]-benzene mixtures. This also explains the different miscibility features between the two mixture systems well. The xC6H6 dependences of the chemical shifts and the C-H out-of-plane bending mode of benzene are similar: the changes are large in the high benzene concentration (xC6H6 > ∼ 0.6) compared to the low benzene concentration. In contrast, the linear xC6H6 dependences of the first moments of the low-frequency spectra less than 200 cm(-1) were observed in both the [MOIm][BF4]-benzene and [MOIm][NTf2]-benzene systems. The difference in the xC6H6 dependent features between the chemical shifts and intramolecular vibrational mode and the intermolecular/interionic vibrational bands might come from the different probing space scales. The traces of the parallel aromatic ring structure and the T-shape structure were found in the ATR-IR and NMR experiments, but fs-RIKES did not observe a clear trace of the local structure. This might imply that the interactions between the imidazolium and benzene rings are not strong enough to librate the imidazolium and benzene rings together. The bulk properties, such as miscibility, density, viscosity, and surface tension, of the two ionic liquid-benzene mixture series were also compared to the microscopic aspects.

In this study, the temperature dependence of the low-frequency spectra of liquid bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide salts of the monocations 1-methyl-3-propylimidazolium and 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium and the dications 1,6-bis(3-methylimidazolium-1-yl)hexane and 1,12-bis(3-methylimidazolium-1-yl)dodecane has been investigated by means of femtosecond optical heterodyne-detected Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy. The intensity in the low-frequency region below 20 cm(-1) in the spectra of the four ionic liquids increases with rising temperature. From a line-shape analysis of the broadened low-frequency spectra of the ionic liquids, it is clear that the lowest-frequency component, which peaks at approximately 5 cm(-1), contributes to the temperature dependence of the spectra. This implies that the activity of the intermolecular translational vibrational motion is increasing with rising temperature. It is also possible that decoupling in the crossover process between intermolecular vibrational motion and structural relaxation occurs as a result of a deterioration of the non-Markovian feature or the loss of memory caused by the higher temperature. The peak of the highest-frequency component, which is due mainly to the imidazolium ring libration, shifts to lower frequency with increasing temperature. This is attributed to weaker interactions of the ionic liquids at higher temperatures. Temperature-dependent viscosities from 293 to 353 K of the four ionic liquids have also been characterized.

We have critically investigated the low-frequency spectra of six ionic liquids (ILs) consisting of systematically different cations having benzyl moieties or comparable-sized saturated cyclohexylmethyl groups, by means of femtosecond Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy (fs-RIKES). The target ionic liquids are bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide ([NTf2](-)) salts of the 1-benzyl-3-methylimidazolium ([BzMIm](+)), 1-benzyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium ([BzMPyrr](+)), 1-benzylpyridinium ([BzPy](+)), 1-cyclohexylmethyl-3-methylimidazolium ([CHxmMIm](+)), 1-cyclohexylmethyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium ([CHxmMPyrr](+)), and 1-cyclohexylmethylpyridinium ([CHxmPy](+)) cations. The primary purpose of this study is to clarify the effects of charged and neutral aromatic moieties on the low-frequency spectrum and bulk properties such as liquid density, surface tension, shear viscosity, glass transition temperature, and melting point. We found that ILs with benzyl groups have larger surface tensions than those with the same cation bearing the cyclohexylmethyl group. The trend in the glass transition temperatures, comparing ILs having the same side group, is pyridinium > imidazolium > pyrrolidinium. The effects of a single aromatic moiety on the shear viscosity are inconclusive, although the viscosities of the ILs with aromatic moieties on both the cation and the benzyl group, i.e., [BzMIm][NTf2] and [BzPy][NTf2], are substantially lower than those of the other ILs at room temperature, as a consequence of their higher fragilities. In the low-frequency Kerr spectra in the frequency range of approximately 0.1 to 200 cm(-1) measured by fs-RIKES, the ILs possessing two aromatic groups show the largest relative intensity of the nuclear response to the electronic response. Both the charged and neutral aromatic rings show signals due to the ring libration; the neutral one appears at a lower frequency than the charged one. The relationship between the first moment of the broad low-frequency spectrum band and the bulk parameter consisting of the square root of the surface tension divided by the liquid density is obeyed by the cyclohexylmethyl derivatives whether the cation is aromatic or not, but not by the ILs with the neutral aromatic benzyl group. Quantum chemistry calculations have been also performed to understand the vibrational modes of the ionic species in the ILs.

The intermolecular dynamics of five six-membered-ring molecular liquids having different aromaticities-benzene, 1,3-cyclohexadiene, 1,4-cyclohexadiene, cyclohexene, and cyclohexane-measured by femtosecond Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy have been compared in this study. The line shapes of the Fourier transform low-frequency spectra, which arise from the intermolecular vibrational dynamics, are trapezoidal for benzene and 1,3-cyclohexadiene, triangular for 1,4-cyclohexadiene and cyclohexene, and monomodal for cyclohexane. The trapezoidal shapes of the low-frequency spectra of benzene and 1,3-cyclohexadiene are due to the librational motions of their aromatic planar structures, which cause damped nuclear response features. The time integrals of the nuclear responses of the five liquids correlate to the squares of the polarizability anisotropies of the molecules calculated on the basis of density functional theory. The first moments of the low-frequency spectra roughly linearly correlate to the bulk parameters of the square roots of the surface tensions divided by the densities and the square roots of the surface tensions divided by the molecular weights, but the plots for cyclohexene deviate slightly from the correlations. The picosecond overdamped transients of the liquids are well fitted by a biexponential function. The fast time constants of all of the liquids are approximately 1.1-1.4 ps, and they do not obey the Stokes-Einstein-Debye hydrodynamic model. On the other hand, the slow time constants are roughly linearly proportional to the products of the shear viscosities and the molar volumes. The observed intramolecular vibrational modes at less than 700 cm(-1) for all of the liquids are also assigned on the basis of quantum chemistry calculations.

We have investigated 7-azaindole (AI) in a variety of solvents including CCl4, CHCl3, CH2Cl2, acetone, CH3CN, and DMSO by femtosecond Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy. In differential low-frequency Kerr spectra between the solutions and the respective neat solvents, vibrational bands of the AI hydrogen-bonding (HB) dimer have been observed at ca. 90 and 105 cm(-1) in CHCl3 and CH2Cl2, as well as CCl4: the standard solvent for the AI dimer. In contrast, a broad monomodal band at ca. 80 cm(-1) characterizes an HB mode between the AI monomer and solvent in acetone, CH3CN, and DMSO. The overdamped Kerr transients in the picosecond region show evidence of both the AI monomer and dimer reorientations in CHCl3, CH2Cl2, acetone, and CH3CN, but only the monomer reorientation has been confirmed in DMSO. The clear intermolecular HB bands have not been observed in acetone, CH3CN, and DMSO because these solvents are sufficiently strong HB acceptors, which form HB AI-solvent complexes, thus preventing quantitative AI dimerization. In addition, it is plausible that the HB band of between AI and solvent obscures the intermolecular bands of the AI dimer when the concentration of the AI dimer is much lower than the AI monomer. For comparison, we have employed NMR to study the concentration-dependent chemical shift of the proton attached to the N at the 7-position of AI and to estimate the dimerization constant: 356, 13.3, 14.7, 0.727, and 0.910 M(-1) in CCl4, CHCl3, CH2Cl2, acetone, and CH3CN, respectively. The femtosecond Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy and NMR results are in good agreement.

Intermolecular/interionic vibrational spectra of mixtures composed of 1-methyl-3-n-octylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ionic liquid and benzene at mole fractions of 0 (i.e., neat ionic liquid), 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0 (i.e., neat benzene) have been investigated using femtosecond Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy. The line shape of the low-frequency Kerr spectra obtained from Fourier transform analyses of the Kerr transients is strongly dependent on the composition of the mixture. By comparing the experimental spectra to calculated spectra based on experimental spectra of the neat liquids, it is evident that the spectrum is not achieved by simply combining those of the neat liquids and taking the mole fraction into consideration. Close examination of the spectral comparison results in a microscopic picture involving specific stacking of imidazolium and benzene rings that is not sufficiently stable to affect the ring librations. The quantum chemistry calculation results also support this proposal. No clear correlation between the first moment of the spectrum and the bulk parameter (i.e., the square root of the surface tension divided by the liquid density), which occurs for neat liquids, is evident.

X-ray scattering experiments and molecular dynamics simulations have been performed to investigate the structure of four room temperature ionic liquids (ILs) comprising the bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide (NTf(2)(-)) anion paired with the triethyloctylammonium (N(2228)(+)) and triethyloctylphosphonium (P(2228)(+)) cations and their isoelectronic diether analogs, the (2-ethoxyethoxy)ethyltriethylammonium (N(222(2O2O2))(+)) and (2-ethoxyethoxy)ethyltriethylphosphonium (P(222(2O2O2))(+)) cations. Agreement between simulations and experiments is good and permits a clear interpretation of the important topological differences between these systems. The first sharp diffraction peak (or prepeak) in the structure function S(q) that is present in the case of the liquids containing the alkyl-substituted cations is absent in the case of the diether substituted analogs. Using different theoretical partitioning schemes for the X-ray structure function, we show that the prepeak present in the alkyl-substituted ILs arises from polarity alternations between charged groups and nonpolar alkyl tails. In the case of the diether substituted ILs, we find considerable curling of tails. Anions can be found with high probability in two different environments: close to the cationic nitrogen (phosphorus) and also close to the two ether groups. For the two diether systems, anions are found in locations from which they are excluded in the alkyl-substituted systems. This removes the longer range (polar/nonpolar) pattern of alternation that gives rise to the prepeak in alkyl-substituted systems.

The dynamical properties of a dicationic ionic liquid (IL), 1,6-bis(3-methylimidazolium-1-yl)hexane bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide ([C(6)(MIm)(2)][NTf(2)](2)), compared to 1-methyl-3-propylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide ([C(3)MIm][NTf(2)]), as its monocationic imidazolic counterpart, are studied by molecular dynamics simulations. We investigate relaxation processes of the polarizability anisotropy of the system and collective dynamics of both the ILs with mean-squared displacement (MSD), non-Gaussian parameter, and the intermediate scattering functions. The analyses of librational dynamics show that the difference of the Kerr spectra between the ILs could be mainly ascribed to the distinctive angular momentum of [C(6)(MIm)(2)](2+) and [C(3)MIm](+) and related to the difference of relaxation behavior between [C(6)(MIm)(2)](2+) and [C(3)MIm](+). Also, it is indicated that the librational dynamics of [NTf(2)](-) indicate a common resonance-type sharp peak that corresponds to an intermolecular motion coupled to the vibrational mode intrinsic to [NTf(2)](-). In addition, it is exhibited from the total X-ray structure factors calculated for both of the ILs that the low-k peak at 0.20 Å(-1) appears for [C(6)(MIm)(2)][NTf(2)](2), while we do not see it for [C(3)MIm][NTf(2)]. We find that the contribution of the anion-cation and anion-anion correlations to the low-k peak is more significant than the cation-cation correlation. Therefore, it is suggested for [C(6)(MIm)(2)][NTf(2)](2) that dynamical heterogeneous behavior strongly correlates with structural variations or heterogeneity.

We report here the low-frequency spectra, resulting from the intermolecular/interionic vibrational dynamics, of aqueous mixtures of an ionic liquid, 1-methyl-3-n-octylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, with the H(2)O mole fractions of 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6 and the neat ionic liquid and H(2)O within the frequency range of 0.1-700 cm(-1) by means of femtosecond Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy. Addition of H(2)O induces tiny effects on the line shape of the low-frequency Kerr spectrum of the ionic liquid: ca. a 2 cm(-1) red shift in the first moment of the low-frequency spectrum has been observed for a transition from the neat ionic liquid to the binary mixture containing 0.6 mol fraction of H(2)O. Surface tension and liquid density of the mixture also accompany minimal changes upon addition of H(2)O. These results suggest that H(2)O molecules localize at the interface between the ionic and nonpolar regions, and the interionic interaction in the ionic region is weakly perturbed by the existence of H(2)O. On the other hand, successive addition of H(2)O in the mixture slows down the picosecond overdamped relaxation process measured in the 3-300 ps range even though the shear viscosity of the mixture decreases substantially.

The conductivity relaxation dynamics of the room-temperature ionic liquid 1-methyl-3-trimethylsilylmethylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([Si-MIm][BF(4)]) have been studied by broadband conductivity relaxation measurements at ambient pressure and elevated pressures up to 600 MPa. For the first time, several novel features of the dynamics have been found in a room-temperature ionic liquid. In the electric loss modulus M″(f) spectra, a resolved secondary β-conductivity relaxation appears, and its relaxation time τ(β) shifts on applying pressure in concert with the relaxation time τ(α) of the primary α-conductivity relaxation. The spectral dispersion of the α-conductivity relaxation, as well as the fractional exponent (1 - n) of the Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts function that fits the spectral dispersion, is invariant to various combinations of pressure and temperature that keep τ(α) constant. Moreover, τ(β) is unchanged. Thus the three quantities, τ(α), τ(β), and n, are coinvariant to changes in pressure and temperature. This strong connection to the α-conductivity relaxation shown by the β-conductivity relaxation in [Si-MIm][BF(4)] indicates that it is the analogue of the Johari-Goldstein β-relaxation in nonionically conducting glass-formers. The findings have fundamental implications on theoretical interpretation of the conductivity relaxation processes and glass transition in ionic liquids. It is also the first time such a secondary conductivity relaxation or the primitive conductivity relaxation of the coupling model has been fully resolved and identified in M″(f) in any ionically conducting material that we know of.

The interionic vibrations in imidazolium-based dicationic ionic liquids (ILs) containing the bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide ([NTf(2)](-)) counteranion were investigated using femtosecond optical-heterodyne-detected Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy. The microscopic nature of the dicationic ILs ([C(n)(MIm)(2)][NTf(2)](2), where n = 6, 10, and 12; MIm = N-methylimidazolium) was compared with that of the corresponding monocationic ILs ([C(n)MIm][NTf(2)], where n = 3, 5, and 6) used as reference samples. Low-frequency Kerr spectra within the frequency range 0-200 cm(-1) of the ILs revealed that (i) the spectral profile of the dicationic ILs as well as that of the corresponding monocationic ILs is bimodal; (ii) the difference in the spectral shapes of the dicationic and monocationic ILs is greater for [C(6)(MIm)(2)][NTf(2)](2) and [C(3)MIm][NTf(2)] than for the ILs with longer alkylene linker/alkyl groups, namely [C(10)(MIm)(2)][NTf(2)](2) and [C(5)MIm][NTf(2)], and [C(12)(MIm)(2)][NTf(2)](2) and [C(6)MIm][NTf(2)]; (iii) the small difference between the dicationic and monocationic ILs is confirmed by the relative intensity of the low-frequency component (ca. 17 cm(-1)) to the high-frequency component (ca. 70 cm(-1)); and (iv) the spectral profiles of the three dicationic ILs are not very different, but the line-shape of the low-frequency Kerr spectrum of 1-methyl-3-propylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide ([C(3)MIm][NTf(2)]) is significantly different from those of the other two monocationic ILs whose cations have a longer alkyl group. The distinguished line-shape of the low-frequency Kerr spectrum of [C(3)MIm][NTf(2)] from the other ILs can be accounted for by the homogeneous nature in the microstructure of the IL, but the other ILs indicate microsegregation structures due to the longer nonpolar alkylene linker or alkyl group in the cations.

We investigated the ultrafast dynamics in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium-based ionic liquids with two series of anions, (1) cyano-group substituted anions (thiocyanate [SCN](-), dicyanamide [N(CN)(2)](-), and tricyanomethide [C(CN)(3)](-)) and (2) trifluoromethylsulfonyl-group substituted anions (trifluoromethanesulfonate [OTf](-), bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide [NTf(2)](-), and tris(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)methide [CTf(3)](-)). This was done by femtosecond Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy. From the Fourier transform Kerr spectra of the ionic liquids, the low-frequency spectrum of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tricyanomethide shows a low-frequency shift compared to the ILs with the other cyano-group substituted anions due to the planar structures of the cation and the anion. The relative amplitude of the low-frequency band at approximately 20 cm(-1) compared to the entire broad spectrum for the ionic liquids with trifluoromethylsulfonyl-group substituted anions becomes larger with the order [OTf](-) < [NTf(2)](-) ≈ [CTf(3)](-). This vibrational band can be attributed to the librational motion of anions and/or the coupling of the translational and reorientational motions.

In this study, we have investigated the heavy atom substitution effects on the ultrafast dynamics in nonaromatic cation-based ionic liquids, as well as the static physical properties such as shear viscosity, surface tension, glass transition temperature, and melting point. Phosphonium-based ionic liquids show lower shear viscosities and lower glass transition temperatures than their corresponding ammonium-based ionic liquids. We have also examined the substitution of a (2-ethoxyethoxy)ethyl group for an octyl group in ammonium and phosphonium cations and found that the (2-ethoxyethoxy)ethyl group reduces the shear viscosity and increases the surface tension. From the results of the ultrafast dynamics, including intra- and interionic vibrations and reorientational relaxation in the ammonium- and phosphonium-based ionic liquids measured by means of femtosecond optically heterodyne-detected Raman-induced Kerr spectroscopy, we have found that the first moment of low-frequency Kerr spectrum, omitting the contributions of clear intraionic vibrational modes, correlates to the square root of surface tension divided by density. This fact indicates that heavy atom substitution in ionic liquids provides a weaker interionic interaction arising from the larger ionic volume. On the other hand, the ether group in the cations gives the stronger interionic interaction but with a more flexible and/or less segregated nature in the ILs than the alkyl group.

We have investigated the microscopic aspects for ionic liquid-H(2)O systems by Raman and IR spectroscopies. Ionic liquids studied here are a series of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium cations (alkyl groups: ethyl, butyl, hexyl, octyl, and decyl groups) with the anions of tetrafluoroborate and bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide. Polarities of the ionic liquid-H(2)O systems have also been measured by means of a solvatochromic dye, betaine 33. Vibrational bands of the anions shift to the higher frequency with the higher water content. We have also found that the magnitude of the frequency shifts of the anions' vibrational modes by adding water becomes smaller with the longer alkyl group of cation. From the comparison of the vibrational spectroscopic result with the result of the solvatochromic experiment, it has become clear that the frequency shift of the vibrational modes of anions almost correlates with the polarity. On the other hand, the feature of the vibrational band of water stretching mode is not really changed among the cations with the different alkyl groups. This evidence implies that the water aggregations localize at ionic regions and the water state does not really depend on the alkyl group of cation.

We have investigated the interionic vibrational dynamics of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium cation ([BMIm]+) based ionic liquids with the anions of [PF6]-, [AsF6]-, and [SbF6]- as well as the static physical properties, such as shear viscosity and liquid density. Shear viscosity for the ionic liquids becomes lower with the heavier atom anion: [BMIm][PF6]>[BMIm][AsF6]>[BMIm][SbF6]. This tendency for heavy atom substitution for the anion results from weaker interionic interaction caused by larger anion volume. Femtosecond optically heterodyne-detected Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy has been used to observe the interionic vibrational dynamics of ionic liquids. The interionic vibration in the frequency region of less than 50 cm(-1) clearly shows the heavy atom substitution effect; that is, the heavy atom substitution of [XF6]- critically affects the interaction-induced motion. The forthcoming paper will further provide the molecular-level insights of the heavy atom substitution effect of the [XF6]- anion on the interionic dynamics and interaction for the three ionic liquids by a molecular dynamics simulation approach.

Following the preceding spectroscopic study, we further investigate atomic mass effects of [XF6]- in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium cation ([BMIm]+) based ionic liquids (ILs) on dynamical natures by a computational approach in this study. We carry out the molecular dynamics simulations for 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium cation based ILs ([BMIm][PF6], [BMIm][AsF6], and [BMIm][SbF6]) with the development of the force fields of [AsF6]- and [SbF6]- by an ab initio calculation. We have calculated density of state (DOS) and velocity autocorrelation function (VACF) profiles, polarizability time correlation function (TCF) and Kerr spectra, intermediate scattering functions, and dynamical structure factors. The decomposition analysis has been also carried out to understand the ion species and types of motion. From these computational studies, we find that the contribution of the reorientation of cations and anions mainly governs the Kerr spectrum profile in all three ILs, while the contribution of the collision-induced and cross terms, which are related to translational motions including coupling with librational motion, is not large at higher frequencies than 50 cm(-1). It is suggested that, with the atom substitution effects of anion units on interionic interactions, many properties in ILs are controllable. In addition, it is emphasized in this study that atomic mass effects in ILs are accessible through a complementary approach of both experimental and theoretical approaches.

Hydrogen-bonding dynamics in aqueous solutions of series of amides and acids have been investigated by means of femtosecond Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy and ab initio quantum chemistry calculation. The amides and acids studied here are acetamide, 1,3-propanedicarboxamide, 1,3,5-pentanetricaroxamide, polyacrylamide with Mw=1500, acetic acid, 1,3-propanedicarboxylic acid, 1,3,5-pentanetricarboxylic acid, and poly(acrylic acid) with Mw=2000. The femtosecond damped transient feature for aqueous amide solutions, which arises from the intermolecular hydrogen bonds of amide and water, becomes clearer with the larger molecular weight of amide. A characteristic vibrational band at about 100 cm(-1) is assigned as the hydrogen-bonding vibrational mode and the ab initio quantum chemistry calculation result indicates that at least two waters, which make up the hydrogen-bonding network with amide, are necessary for this mode. The hydrogen-bonding vibrational mode at about 100 cm(-1) in aqueous amide solutions shifts to the higher frequency with the larger molecular weight amide in consequence of the stronger intermolecular interaction between amide and water. The evidence likely comes from the stronger hydrophobic interaction for polymer than oligomers and monomer. In the picosecond time region, an extra slow relaxation process with a time constant of about 60 ps has been found in the aqueous polymer solutions. The relaxation is assigned as a local motion of the constitutional repeat unit of polymers from comparison with monomer and oligomers.

The intermolecular interactions and dynamics of novel ionic liquids with alkylsilyl and alkylsiloxy substitutions on the cations are studied by measuring the intermolecular vibrational spectra and reorientational dynamics using femtosecond Kerr effect methods. The new ionic liquids include 1-dimethylphenylsilylmethyl-3-methylimidazolium (PhSi-mim+), and 1-methyl-3-pentamethyldisiloxymethylimidazolium (SiOSi-mim+) cations paired with the bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (NTf(2)-) anion. Measured ionic liquid viscosities are surprisingly low for such bulky cation substituents. DFT electronic structure calculations on the isolated ions provide additional information about the electrostatic interactions.

Trimethylsilylmethyl (TMSiM)-substituted imidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (NTf(2)-), and tetrafluoroborate (BF(4)-) ionic liquids (ILs) have lower room-temperature viscosities by factors of 1.6 and 7.4, respectively, than isostructural neopentylimidazolium ILs. In an attempt to account for the effects of silicon substitution in imidazolium RTILs and to investigate the ion dynamics, we report nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements of 1H (I = 1/2) and 19F (I = 1/2) spin-lattice relaxation times (T1) and self-diffusion coefficients (D) as a function of temperature for ILs containing the TMSiM group and, for comparison, the analogous neopentyl group. The 1H and 19F nuclei probe the dynamics of the cations and anions, respectively. The low-temperature line shapes were determined to be Gaussian, and the onset of the rigid lattice line width is correlated with the measured glass transition temperature. The spin-lattice relaxation data feature a broad T1 minimum as a function of inverse temperature for both nuclear species. The Arrhenius plots of the diffusion data for both nuclear species are found to exhibit Vogel-Tammann-Fulcher curvature. Analysis of the eta and D data generally show fractional Stokes-Einstein behavior D proportional to (T/eta)m. This is most prominent in the neopentylimidazolium BF(4)- IL with m approximately 0.66.

We have prepared novel room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) with trimethylsilylmethyl (TMSiM)-substituted imidazolium cations and compared the properties of these liquids with those for which the TMSiM group is replaced by the analogous neopentyl group. The ionic liquids are prepared with both tetrafluoroborate (BF(4)(-)) and bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (NTf(2)(-)) anions paired with the imidazolium cations. At 22 degrees C, the TMSiM-substituted imidazolium ILs have shear viscosities that are reduced by a factor of 1.6 and 7.4 relative to the alkylimidazolium ILs for the NTf(2)(-) and BF(4)(-) anions, respectively. To understand the effect of silicon substitution on the viscosity, the charge densities have been calculated by using density functional theory electronic structure calculations. The ultrafast intermolecular, vibrational, and orientational dynamics of these RTILs have been measured by using femtosecond optical heterodyne-detected Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy (OHD-RIKES). The intermolecular dynamical spectrum provides an estimate of the strength of interactions between the ions in the RTILs, and provides a qualitative explanation for the observed reduction in viscosity for the silicon-substituted RTILs.

Ultrafast molecular dynamics of liquid poly(ethylene glycol)s, tetra(ethylene glycol), penta(ethylene glycol), and poly(ethylene glycol) with the molecular weight of 600, and crown ethers, 12-crown-4 and 15-crown-5, have been investigated by means of femtosecond optical heterodyne-detected Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy. Picosecond Kerr transients of poly(ethylene glycol)s and crown ethers are characterized by a biexponential function with the time constants of about 2 and 20 ps. Both the faster and slower time constants do not vary much among the five oligo(ethylene oxide)s. Femtosecond dynamics is discussed based on the Kerr (depolarized Raman) spectra obtained by Fourier transform deconvolution analysis of the high time resolution Kerr transients. The broad low-frequency band (0-200 cm(-1)) in the Kerr spectrum is analyzed by two Brownian oscillators. The spectral shapes of linear poly(ethylene glycol) and cyclic crown ether are very different. Both the low- and high-frequency Brownian oscillators for crown ethers show lower frequency and broader spectral features than those for poly(ethylene glycol)s. The comparison of the low-frequency spectra of poly(ethylene glycol)s and crown ethers shows that the low-frequency spectrum of 15-crown-5 is closer to that of poly(ethylene glycol)s than that of 12-crown-4 is. The difference of the low-frequency spectra between poly(ethylene glycol) and crown ether is discussed with the concepts of molecular conformation and liquid density. The features of the observed intramolecular vibrational bands are also correlated with the molecular conformations.