Trace Water Changes Metal Ion Speciation in Deep Eutectic Solvents : Ce3+ Solvation and Nanoscale Water Clustering in Choline Chloride-Urea-Water Mixtures
Eutectic mixtures of choline chloride, urea, and water in deep eutectic solvent (DES)/water molar hydration ratios (w) of 2, 5, and 10, with dissolved cerium salt, were measured using neutron diffraction with isotopic substitution. Structures were modeled using empirical potential structure refinement (EPSR). Ce3+ was found to form highly charged complexes with a mean coordination number between 7