In
this study, we examined the low-frequency spectra of 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium
tetrafluoroborate ([MOIm][BF4]) mixtures with methanol
(MeOH), acetonitrile (MeCN), and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), which
were obtained by femtosecond Raman-induced Kerr effect spectroscopy
(fs-RIKES) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. In addition, we
estimated the liquid properties of the mixtures, such as density ρ,
surface tension γ, viscosity η, and electrical conductivity
σ. The line shapes of the low-frequency Kerr spectra of the
three [MOIm][BF4] mixture systems strongly depend on the
mole fraction of the molecular liquid, X
ML. The spectral intensity increases with increasing X
ML of the [MOIm][BF4]/MeCN system but decreases
for the [MOIm][BF4]/MeOH and [MOIm][BF4]/DMSO
systems. These behaviors of the spectral intensities reasonably agree
with the vibrational density-of-states spectra when the polarizability
anisotropies of MeOH, MeCN, DMSO, and ion species are considered.
The characteristic frequencies (first moments, M
1) of the low-frequency spectra of the three mixture systems
are almost insensitive at X
ML = 0–0.6.
However, the frequencies vary mildly at X
ML = 0.6–0.9 and dramatically at X
ML = 0.9–1. The X
ML-dependent M
1 in the Kerr spectra are well reproduced by
the MD simulations. Plots of M
1 versus
bulk parameter, (γ/ρ)1/2,
for the three mixture systems show that the mixtures at X
ML = 0–0.6 behave like aromatic cation-based ionic
liquids (ILs), those at X
ML = 0.9–1
are molecular liquids (MLs), and those at X
ML = 0.6–0.9 are transitioning between aromatic cation-based
ILs and MLs. MD simulations show that the solvent molecules localized
at the interface between the ionic and the alkyl group regions without
forming large solvent networks at X
ML =
0–0.6. However, solvent networks or regions develop largely
at X
ML = 0.6–0.9 and the constituent
ions of the IL disperse in the MLs at X
ML = 0.9–1. The MD simulations corroborate the results obtained
by fs-RIKES.