Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have emerged as an alternative to both common organic solvents and ionic liquids (ILs). DESs share physicochemical properties with ILs such as low vapor pressure, high thermal stability, high viscosity while offering advantages such as low toxicity, lower cost, and ease of preparation. Moreover, DESs are attractive candidates for electrochemical applications due to their large voltage windows and solubility properties. DESs as a solvent class share a general composition of a hydrogen bond donor (HBD), typically a polyol, amide, or acid, and a hydrogen box acceptor (HBA), usually a quaternary ammonium or phosphonium salt. At a specific molar composition of a HBD and HBD, the DES forms a eutectic mixture resulting in a large melting point depression due to extensive hydrogen bonding between the components.

Despite being widely studied, the microscopic structures of DESs have remained largely uncharacterized. Herein, we present a multitechnique NMR study of two DESs: glyceline (glycerol + choline chloride) and ethaline (ethylene glycol + choline chloride). Fast-field cycling ¹H relaxometry, pulsed field gradient diffusion, nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy (NOESY), ¹³C NMR relaxation, and pressure-dependent NMR experiments are deployed to sample a range of frequencies and modes of motion of the polyol and choline components of the DES. Generally, translational and rotational diffusion of polyols are more rapid than those of choline while short-range rotational motions observed from ¹³C relaxation indicate slow local motion of glycerol at low choline chloride (ChCl) content. We show how the additional hydroxyl group present in glycerol contributes to not only higher viscosities, but a larger perturbation of the hydrogen bonding network by the addition of ChCl.

Additionally, we have investigated the solubility properties of several lithium salts (LiTFSI, LiFSI, LiPF₆, LiBF₄, and LiOAc) in these DESs and utilized the same suite of NMR techniques to understand how they act as solvents. We observe that due to anion effects, the heterogeneities present in DES result in differential solvation for some species where there is a distinction of lithium salts co-existing in these holes as well as the bulk. The large changes in the structural organization of DESs that result from the presence of lithium salts will serve as a guide to the design of a new class of electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries.