Molecular dynamics simulation of imidazolium-based ionic liquids. II. Transport coefficients

Abstract

A systematic molecular dynamics study is performed to determine the dynamics and transport properties of 12 room-temperature ionic liquids family with 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium cation, [amim](+) (alkyl = methyl, ethyl, propyl, and butyl), with counterions, PF(6)(-), NO(3)(-), and Cl(-). The goal of the work is to provide molecular level understanding of the transport coefficients of these liquids as guidance to experimentalists on choosing anion and cation pairs to match required properties of ionic liquid solvents. In the earlier paper (Part I), we characterized the dynamics of ionic liquids and provided a detailed comparison of the diffusion coefficients for each ion using the Einstein and Green-Kubo formulas. In this second part, other transport properties of imidazolium salts are calculated, in particular, the electrical conductivity is calculated from the Nernst-Einstein and Green-Kubo formulas. The viscosity is also determined from the Stokes-Einstein relation. The results of the calculated transport coefficients are consistent with the previous computational and experimental studies of imidazolium salts. Generally, the simulations give electrical conductivity lower than experiment while the viscosity estimate is higher than experiment. Within the same cation family, the ionic liquids with the NO(3)(-) counterion have the highest electrical conductivities: sigma[NO(3)](-)>sigma[PF(6)](-)>sigma[Cl](-). The [dmim][X] series, due to their symmetric cationic structure and good packing and the [bmim][X] series due to higher inductive van der Waals interactions of [bmim](+), have the highest viscosities in these ionic liquid series. Our simulations show that the major factors determining the magnitude of the self-diffusion, electrical conductivity, and viscosity are the geometric shape, ion size, and the delocalization of the ionic charge in the anion.