Formation mechanisms of Caprolactam-tetraalkyl ammonium halide deep eutectic and its hydrate.

Deep eutectic solvents (DES) are generally composed of two or three cheap and safe components that are associated with each other via hydrogen bonds. The formation Caprolactam (CPL)-tetraalkyl ammonium halide (TAAX) DES and its hydrate were investigated using React IR. TAAX was introduced to CPL in the molten state at 353.15 K, the intermolecular H-N-C=O⋯H-N-C=O hydrogen bonds (CPL dimer) transfer to X⋯H-N-C=O (CPL-TAAX DES). When water was added to CPL-TAAX DES, intermolecular X⋯H-N-C=O⋯H-O-H hydrogen bonds appeared, and CPL-TAAX DES hydrate was formed. However, if the ratio of water exceeded the moral fraction of 0.61, CPL-TAAX DES hydrate turned into a CPL-TAAX aqueous solution. The CO (1660 cm) bonds were linearly correlated with hydrogen bonds number and TBAB amount in CPL-TBAB DES. When the molar fraction of CPL-TBAB DES was 0.39 to 0.78, the CO peak redshift has a better linear correlation with water. Halide anions and the alkyl chain length of TAAX have little influence on the redshifts and peak intensity of the CO peak.