Spreading of Nanodroplets of Ionic Liquids on the Mica Surface

Abstract

Previously, the molecular structure of ionic liquids (ILs) next to a solid surface has been extensively studied because the IL-solid interfaces are critical to many important applications. What is largely unknown is the mobility of ILs confined to a solid surface. The solid-like stable structure of ILs on the solid surfaces has been reported in previous research, which indicates that the mobility of ILs next to a solid surface is quite low and the structure of ILs will not change with time. However, here, we show that the nanodroplets of ILs flow on the mica surface, which suggest that, at a small scale, the solid-like stable structure of ILs on the solid surfaces indeed changes with time. Interestingly, although the IL nanodroplets show a layered structure, no terrace-like flow of the droplet has been observed, which has been attributed to the weak mica-IL interaction at low humidity.