Spectroscopic investigation of new binary molten salt electrolytes based on LiClO₄ with acetamide

New low-temperature molten salt electrolytes based on LiClO₄ and acetamide with proper molar ratio appear as liquid at room temperature through they are composed of two solids and have excellent thermal stability and electrochemical properties. The mechanism of action has been studied by FT-IR spectroscopy, FT-Raman spectroscopy and quantum chemistry calculation with nonlocal DFT. The results indicated that acetamide can coordinate with Li ⁺ cation in the LiClO₄-acetamide system through Li-O bonding. A big coordinate cation was formed and the coulombic force was weakened. Meanwhile, Li-O can also lead to the breakage of hydrogen bonding between acetamide molecules, resulting in the decrease of the co-molten temperature of the system compared with that of pure salt. A part of samples of this molten salt could exist stably in liquid state at room temperature.