Influence of Hydrogen Bonding between Ions of like Charge on the Ionic Liquid Interfacial Structure at a Mica Surface

Thomas Niemann, Hua Li, Gregory G. Warr, Ralf Ludwig, Rob Atkin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

24 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Ionic liquids (ILs) have attracted increasing interest in science and technology because of their remarkable properties, which can be tuned via varying ion structures to control the relative strengths of Coulomb interactions, hydrogen bonding (H-bonding), and dispersion forces. Here we use atomic force microscopy to probe the interfacial nanostructures of hydroxy functionalized ILs at negatively charged mica surfaces. H-bonding between hydroxy functionalized cations (c-c) produces cation clusters and a stronger interfacial nanostructure. H-bond stabilized cation clusters form despite opposing electrostatic repulsions between charge groups, cation-anion (c-a) electrostatic attractions, and (c-a) H-bonds. Comparison of ILs with and without OH functionalized cations shows directional H-bonding enhances interfacial structure more strongly than the dispersion forces between alkyl groups. These findings reveal a new means of controlling IL interfacial nanostructure via H-bonding between like-charged ions, which impact diverse areas including electrochemical charge storage (batteries and catalysis), electrodeposition, lubrication, etc.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)7368-7373
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry Letters
Volume10
Issue number23
Early online date12 Nov 2019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 5 Dec 2019

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Influence of Hydrogen Bonding between Ions of like Charge on the Ionic Liquid Interfacial Structure at a Mica Surface'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this