Hydrogen Bonding in Ionic Liquids Probed by Linear and Nonlinear Vibrational Spectroscopy

Three imidazolium-based ionic liquids of the type [Cnmim][NTf2] with varying alkyl chain lengths (n = 1, 2 and 8) at the 1 position of the imidazolium ring were studied applying IR, linear Raman, and multiplex CARS spectroscopy. The focus has been on the CH-stretching region of the imidazolium ring, which is supposed to carry information about a possible hydrogen bonding network in the ionic liquid. The measurements are compared to calculations of the corresponding anharmonic vibrational spectra for a cluster of [C2mim][NTf2] consisting of four ion pairs. The results support the hypothesis of weak hydrogen bonding involving the C(4)-H and C(5)-H groups and somewhat stronger hydrogen bonds of the C(2)-H groups.Comment: revised manuscript, accepted for publication in New J. Phy

Non-formal spaces of socio-cultural accompaniment: Responding to young unaccompanied refugees – reflections from the Partispace project.

Drawing on research in progress in the Partispace project we make a case for the recognition of the importance of non-formal spaces in response to young refugees across three different national contexts: Frankfurt in Germany; Gothenburg in Sweden; and Manchester in the UK. It is argued that recognition of local regulation and national controls of immigration which support climates of hostility makes it important to recognise and affirm the significance of non-formal spaces and ‘small spaces close to home’ which are often developed in the ‘third space’ of civil society and arise from the impulses driven by the solidarity of volunteers. In these contexts it is important that practices of hospitality can develop which symbolically reconstitute refugees as hosts and subjects of a democratic conversation, without which there is no possible administrative solution to the refugee crisis. It is essential that educational spaces such as schools, colleges and universities forge strong bonds with such emergent spaces

Ultrafast CARS with Improved Spectral Resolution

Molecular vibrations are investigated by time and frequency resolved CARS applying ultrafast excitation and picosecond probing for high spectral resolution. Enhanced spectral structure and beating phenomena are demonstrated for coalescing Raman bands