The structure, dynamics, and phase behavior of a binary mixture based on the protic ionic liquid 1-ethylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (C2HImTFSI) and imidazole are investigated by (1)H NMR spectroscopy, vibrational spectroscopy, diffusion NMR, calorimetric measurements, and molecular dynamics simulations. Particular attention is given to the nature of the H-bonds established and the consequent occurrence of the Grotthuss mechanism of proton transfer. We find that due to their structural similarity, the imidazolium cation and the imidazole molecule behave as interchangeable and competing sites of interaction for the TFSI anion. All investigated properties, that is the phase behavior, strength of ion-ion and ion-imidazole interactions, number of specific H-bonds, density, and self-diffusivity, are composition dependent and show trend changes at mole fractions of imidazole (χ) approximately equal to 0.2 and 0.5. Beyond χ = 0.8 imidazole is not miscible in C2HImTFSI at room temperature. We find that at the equimolar composition (χ ≈ 0.5) a structural transition occurs from an ionic network mainly stabilized by coulombic forces to a mixed phase held together by site specific H-bonds. The same composition also marks a steeper decrease in density and increase in diffusivity, resulting from the preference of imidazole molecules to H-bond to each other in a chain-like manner. As a result of these structural features the Grotthuss mechanism of proton transfer is less favored at the equimolar composition where H-bonds are too stable. By contrast, the Grotthuss mechanism is more pronounced in the low concentration range where imidazole acts as a base pulling the proton of the imidazolium cation. At high imidazole concentrations the contribution from the vehicular mechanism dominates.

In this work, the effect of molecular cosolvents (water, ethanol, and methanol) on the structure of mixtures of these compounds with a protic ionic liquid (ethylammonium nitrate) is analyzed by means of classical molecular dynamics simulations. Included are as-yet-unreported measurements of the densities of these mixtures, used to test our parameterized potential. The evolution of the structure of the mixtures throughout the concentration range is reported by means of the calculation of coordination numbers and the fraction of hydrogen bonds in the system, together with radial and spatial distribution functions for the various molecular species and molecular ions in the mixture. The overall picture indicates a homogeneous mixing process of added cosolvent molecules, which progressively accommodate themselves in the network of hydrogen bonds of the protic ionic liquid, contrarily to what has been reported for their aprotic counterparts. Moreover, no water clustering similar to that in aprotic mixtures is detected in protic aqueous mixtures, but a somehow abrupt replacing of [NO3](-) anions in the first hydration shell of the polar heads of the ionic liquid cations is registered around 60% water molar concentration. The spatial distribution functions of water and alcohols differ in the coordination type, since water coordinates with [NO3](-) in a bidentate fashion in the equatorial plane of the anion, while alcohols do it in a monodentate fashion, competing for the oxygen atoms of the anion. Finally, the collision times of the different cosolvent molecules are also reported by calculating their velocity autocorrelation functions, and a caging effect is observed for water molecules but not in alcohol mixtures.

Abstract.This work describes the behaviour of water molecules in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ionic liquid under nanoconfinement between graphene sheets. By means of molecular dynamics simulations, an adsorption of water molecules at the graphene surface is studied. A depletion of water molecules in the vicinity of the neutral and negatively charged graphene surfaces and their adsorption at the positively charged surface are observed in line with the preferential hydration of the ionic liquid anions. The findings are appropriately described using a two-level statistical model. The confinement effect on the structure and dynamics of the mixtures is thoroughly analyzed using the density and the potential of mean force profiles, as well as by the vibrational densities of states of water molecules near the graphene surface. The orientation of water molecules and the water-induced structural transitions in the layer closest to the graphene surface are also discussed.

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A molecular dynamics study of mixtures of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([BMIm][BF]) with magnesium tetrafluoroborate (Mg[BF]) confined between two parallel graphene walls is reported. The structure of the system is analyzed by means of ionic density profiles, lateral structure of the first layer close to the graphene surface and angular orientations of imidazolium cations. Free energy profiles for divalent magnesium cations are calculated using two different methods in order to evaluate the height of the potential barriers near the walls, and the results are compared with those of mixtures of the same ionic liquid and a lithium salt (Li[BF]). Preferential adsorption of magnesium cations is analyzed using a simple model and compared to that of lithium cations, and vibrational densities of states are calculated for the cations close to the walls analyzing the influence of the graphene surface charge. Our results indicate that magnesium cations next to the graphene wall have a roughly similar environment to that in the bulk. Moreover, they face higher potential barriers and are less adsorbed on the charged graphene walls than lithium cations. In other words, magnesium cations have a more stable solvation shell than lithium ones.