Boson peak in the room-temperature molten salt tetra(n-butyl)ammonium croconate - art. no. 104303

Low-frequency (5-200 cm(-1)) Raman spectra of the room-temperature molten s alt, tetra(n-butyl)ammonium croconate (TBCR), [(n-C4H9)(4)N](2)C5O5. 4H(2)O , are reported. TBCR is a very viscous liquid with glass transition tempera ture T-g=20 degreesC. According to the temperature dependence of the viscos ity, TBCR has been classified as a fragile glass-forming liquid. Raman spec tra of TBCR have been obtained from 360 K down to a deep supercooled state at 77 K. The boson peak is observed in the Raman spectra as long as the sys tem is cooled below T-g. The spectra are discussed in terms of proposed the ories for depolarized light scattering in glass-forming liquids.