Interplay of Phase Separation, Tail Aggregation, and Micelle Formation in the Nanostructured Organization of Hydrated Imidazolium Ionic Liquid

Abstract

A molecular investigation on the effect of water on structural properties of imidazolium-based ionic liquids (ILs) is essential due to its various industrial applications. In this work, we employ molecular dynamics simulations to characterize the influence of various water concentrations on nanostructural properties of the 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [Hmim][NTf2] IL. An examination of molecular interactions in [Hmim][NTf2] IL-water mixtures shows the following trends: (a) At low water concentration, small regions of water molecules are surrounded by several cation-anion pairs. (b) At medium water concentration, cation tail aggregation starts, and phase separation between the IL and water is observed. (c) At high water concentration, increasing cationic tail aggregation leads to micelle formation. Further aggregates of cations and anions are solvated by large water channels. The radial distribution functions show that cation-anion, cation-cation, and anion-anion interactions decrease and water-water interaction increases with water concentration. The hydrogen bonding interactions occur between the acidic hydrogen of the positively charged imidazolium cation with the nitrogen and oxygen atoms of the anions. However, no hydrogen bonding interactions are seen between water molecules and the hydrophobic anions.