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An R, Wu N, Gao Q, Dong Y, Laaksonen A, Shah FU, Ji X, Fuchs H. Integrative studies of ionic liquid interface layers: bridging experiments, theoretical models and simulations. NANOSCALE HORIZONS 2024; 9:506-535. [PMID: 38356335 DOI: 10.1039/d4nh00007b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Ionic liquids (ILs) are a class of salts existing in the liquid state below 100 °C, possessing low volatility, high thermal stability as well as many highly attractive solvent and electrochemical capabilities, etc., making them highly tunable for a great variety of applications, such as lubricants, electrolytes, and soft functional materials. In many applications, ILs are first either physi- or chemisorbed on a solid surface to successively create more functional materials. The functions of ILs at solid surfaces can differ considerably from those of bulk ILs, mainly due to distinct interfacial layers with tunable structures resulting in new ionic liquid interface layer properties and enhanced performance. Due to an almost infinite number of possible combinations among the cations and anions to form ILs, the diversity of various solid surfaces, as well as different external conditions and stimuli, a detailed molecular-level understanding of their structure-property relationship is of utmost significance for a judicious design of IL-solid interfaces with appropriate properties for task-specific applications. Many experimental techniques, such as atomic force microscopy, surface force apparatus, and so on, have been used for studying the ion structuring of the IL interface layer. Molecular Dynamics simulations have been widely used to investigate the microscopic behavior of the IL interface layer. To interpret and clarify the IL structure and dynamics as well as to predict their properties, it is always beneficial to combine both experiments and simulations as close as possible. In another theoretical model development to bridge the structure and properties of the IL interface layer with performance, thermodynamic prediction & property modeling has been demonstrated as an effective tool to add the properties and function of the studied nanomaterials. Herein, we present recent findings from applying the multiscale triangle "experiment-simulation-thermodynamic modeling" in the studies of ion structuring of ILs in the vicinity of solid surfaces, as well as how it qualitatively and quantitatively correlates to the overall ILs properties, performance, and function. We introduce the most common techniques behind "experiment-simulation-thermodynamic modeling" and how they are applied for studying the IL interface layer structuring, and we highlight the possibilities of the IL interface layer structuring in applications such as lubrication and energy storage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rong An
- Herbert Gleiter Institute of Nanoscience, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China.
| | - Nanhua Wu
- Key Laboratory of Advanced Catalytic Materials and Technology, School of Petrochemical Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China
| | - Qingwei Gao
- College of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Materials Protection and Advanced Materials in Electric Power, Shanghai University of Electric Power, Shanghai 200090, China
| | - Yihui Dong
- Department of Molecular Chemistry and Materials Science, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 76100, Israel
| | - Aatto Laaksonen
- Energy Engineering, Division of Energy Science, Luleå University of Technology, 97187 Luleå, Sweden.
- Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Arrhenius Laboratory, Stockholm University, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
- Center of Advanced Research in Bionanoconjugates and Biopolymers, ''Petru Poni" Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Iasi 700469, Romania
- State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
| | - Faiz Ullah Shah
- Chemistry of Interfaces, Luleå University of Technology, 97187 Luleå, Sweden
| | - Xiaoyan Ji
- Energy Engineering, Division of Energy Science, Luleå University of Technology, 97187 Luleå, Sweden.
| | - Harald Fuchs
- Herbert Gleiter Institute of Nanoscience, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China.
- Center for Nanotechnology (CeNTech), Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany.
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Han M, Rogers SA, Espinosa-Marzal RM. Rheological Characteristics of Ionic Liquids under Nanoconfinement. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2022; 38:2961-2971. [PMID: 35220714 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c03460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
While the dynamic properties of ionic liquids (ILs) in nanoconfinement play a crucial role in the performance of IL-based electrochemical and mechanical devices, experimental work mostly falls short at reporting "solid-like" versus "liquid-like" behavior of confined ILs. The present work is the first to conduct frequency-sweep oscillatory-shear rheology on IL nanofilms, reconciling the solid-versus-liquid debate and revealing the importance of shear rate in the behavior. We disentangle and analyze the viscoelasticity of nanoconfined ILs and shed light on their relaxation mechanisms. Furthermore, a master curve describes the scaling of the dynamic behavior of four (non-hydrogen-bonding) ILs under nanoconfinement and reveals the role of the compressibility of the flow units.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengwei Han
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Simon A Rogers
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Rosa M Espinosa-Marzal
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
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Wang B, Li L. Effect of Solid Substrates on the Molecular Structure of Ionic Liquid Nanofilms. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2021; 37:14753-14759. [PMID: 34878792 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c02722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Fundamental understandings of the interfacial molecular structure of solid-confined ionic liquids (ILs) have significant impacts on the development of many cutting-edge applications. Among the extensive studies on the molecular structure at the IL/solid interface, direct observation of a double-layering quantized growth of [Cnmim][FAP] on mica was recently reported. In the current work, the atomic force microscopy (AFM) results directly show that the growths of [Bmim][FAP] nanofilms on silica and amorphous carbon are different from the double-layering growth on mica. The growth of [Bmim][FAP] nanofilms on silica is dominated by the aggregation of the IL molecules, which can be attributed to the inadequate negative charging of the silica surface resulting in a weak electrostatic interaction between silica and the IL cation. [Bmim][FAP] on amorphous carbon shows a fairly smooth film for the thinner nanofilms, which can be attributed to the π-π+ parallel stacking between the cation imidazolium ring and the randomly distributed sp2 carbon on the amorphous carbon surface. Our findings highlight the effect of different IL/solid interactions, among the several competing interactions at the interface, on the resulting molecular arrangements of various IL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingchen Wang
- Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
| | - Lei Li
- Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, United States
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Wang B, Li L. Direct observation of the double-layering quantized growth of mica-confined ionic liquids. NANOSCALE 2021; 13:17961-17971. [PMID: 34700337 DOI: 10.1039/d1nr05437f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Since the interface between ionic liquids (ILs) and solids always plays a critical role in important applications such as coating, lubrication, energy storage and catalysis, it is essential to unravel the molecular structure and dynamics of ILs confined to solid surfaces. Here we report direct observation of a unique double-layering quantized growth of three IL (i.e. [Emim][FAP], [Bmim][FAP] and [Hmim][FAP]) nanofilms on mica. AFM results show that the IL nanofilms initially grow only by covering more surface areas at the constant film thickness of 2 monolayers (ML) until a quantized increase in the film thickness by another 2 ML occurs. Based on the AFM results, we propose a double-layering model describing the molecular structure of IL cations and anions on the mica surface. The interesting double-layering structure can be explained as the result of several competing interactions at the IL-mica interface. Meanwhile, the time-dependent AFM results indicate that the topography of IL nanofilms could change with time and mobility of the nanofilm is lower for ILs with longer alkyl chains, which can be attributed to the stronger solvophobic interaction. The findings here have important implications on the molecular structure and dynamics of ILs confined to solid surfaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingchen Wang
- Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, Swanson School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
| | - Lei Li
- Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, Swanson School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
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