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Title: Scalable Screening of Soft Matter: A Case Study of Mixtures of Ionic Liquids and Organic Solvents

Journal Article · · Journal of Physical Chemistry. B, Condensed Matter, Materials, Surfaces, Interfaces and Biophysical Chemistry

Room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) are a class of organic salts that are liquid at room temperature. Their physiochemical properties, including low vapor pressure and wide electrochemical stability window, have expedited their use as electrolytes in many electrochemical applications; yet, the slow transport properties of many RTILs have limited their utility in some applications. This issue is often mitigated by solvating ionic liquids in neutral organic solvents. To date, however, solvent interactions have only been explored for a small number of solvents, particularly acetonitrile and propylene carbonate, at only a few compositions. Here, we use molecular dynamics simulations in the context of a computational screening approach to study mixtures of ionic liquids in many different solvents at a range of concentrations. Building on prior work, we again find that ionic liquid diffusivity increases monotonically with greater solvent concentration. In contrast to prior work, we find that pure solvent diffusivity, not polarity, is the most influential solvent property on mixture behavior. We also explore the concentration dependence of ionic conductivity and find maxima at intermediate concentrations. Experimental conductivity measurements, inspired by the computational screening study, support this observation with qualitatively consistent results. These results can further guide the selection of solvents for electrochemical applications of RTILs.

Research Organization:
Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Fluid Interface Reactions, Structures and Transport Center (FIRST); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1507848
Journal Information:
Journal of Physical Chemistry. B, Condensed Matter, Materials, Surfaces, Interfaces and Biophysical Chemistry, Journal Name: Journal of Physical Chemistry. B, Condensed Matter, Materials, Surfaces, Interfaces and Biophysical Chemistry Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 123; ISSN 1520-6106
Publisher:
American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (8)

Ionic liquid dynamics in nanoporous carbon: A pore-size- and temperature-dependent neutron spectroscopy study on supercapacitor materials journal May 2020
Thermodynamic and Transport Properties of Tetrabutylphosphonium Hydroxide and Tetrabutylphosphonium Chloride–Water Mixtures via Molecular Dynamics Simulation journal January 2020
Microscopic dynamics in room-temperature ionic liquids confined in materials for supercapacitor applications journal January 2020
Towards molecular simulations that are transparent, reproducible, usable by others, and extensible (TRUE) journal April 2020
Electrocatalytic Processes for the Valorization of CO2: Synthesis of Cyanobenzoic Acid Using Eco-Friendly Strategies journal May 2019
Thermodynamic and Transport Properties of Tetrabutylphosphonium Hydroxide and Tetrabutylphosphonium Chloride–Water Mixtures via Molecular Dynamics Simulation journal January 2020
Towards molecular simulations that are transparent, reproducible, usable by others, and extensible (TRUE) text January 2020
Towards molecular simulations that are transparent, reproducible, usable by others, and extensible (TRUE) text January 2020

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