Diffusion and Solvation of Radical Ions in an Ionic Liquid Studied by the MFE Probe

Magnetic field effects (MFEs) on photoinduced electron transfer reaction between benzophenone (BP) and 1,4-diazabicyclo [2.2.2] octane in an ionic liquid (IL) of N,N,N-trimethyl-N-propylammonium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl) amide were studied by a nanosecond laser flash photolysis technique. The escape yield of the benzophenone radical anion (BP•–) was increased with increasing magnetic field strength (B) of 0 T < B ≤ 0.1 T and almost saturated at 0.1 T < B ≤ 1.7 T. The observed MFEs were explained by the hyperfine coupling mechanism (HFCM) and the relaxation mechanism (RM). The large MFEs indicate the nanometer-scaled cage effects on the diffusion of the radical ion pairs (RIP) generated by the photoinduced electron transfer reaction in TMPA TFSA. The cage lifetime for the RIP was estimated to be 170 ns, which is much longer than that previously reported for the neutral radical pairs (