Hey guys, i’ve been lurching on this forum for ages now so i thought i’d finally sign up an account as i have a problem i can’t seem to solve myself. Any input/thoughts/ideas would be greatly appreciated.
I’m making an ionic liquid, in this case a near-eutectic mixture of carbamide (urea), acetamide and magnesium perchlorate. All of these chemicals are solid at room temperature, however it forms a liquid when mixed at right ratios, thanks to thermodynamics (it also exhibits signs of supercooling under 20C which is pretty cool). The purpose for this liquid is to function as an electrolyte in a Mg-ion battery prototype that i am developing. This means that the liquid cannot contain any traces of water at all (as this will immediately react with Mg and ruin the battery).
I’ve tried various methods of removing water, such as pre-drying of raw materials and also boiling the ready-made liquid in a glove box. Furthermore, i have tried adding molecular sieves (4A) which ended badly, and i have also tried pre-reacting all water with Mg, but this releases hydroxides into the liquid which has a very negative effect. I’ve also tried ordering high-purity chemicals, but that didn’t help much (i’m doing my work in China- “anhydrous” means “max 2%” apparently)
I have a limited lab at my disposal, but i really don’t know enough organic chemistry to come up with a solution on my own. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated