Chain-length dependent organisation in mixtures of hydrogenous and fluorous ionic liquids.

As part of an ongoing study of the structure and properties of mixtures of ionic liquids in which one component has a hydrocarbon chain and the other a semiperfluorocarbon chain, we now report a study of the mixtures [CMIM][CMIM-F][TfN], [CMIM][CMIM-F][TfN] and [CMIM][CMIM-F][TfN], where [CMIM][TfN] is 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, [CMIM][TfN] is 1-decyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, [CMIM-F][TfN] is 1-(1,1,2,2-perfluorooctyl)-3-methylimidizolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide and [CMIM-F][TfN] is 1-(1,1,2,2-perfluorodecyl)-3-methylimidizolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide. The mixtures were investigated using small-angle X-ray (SAXS) and neutron (SANS) scattering complemented by molecular dynamics simulations (with viscosity and surface tension measurements also possible for the mixtures [CMIM][CMIM-F][TfN]). Unlike previous studies of [CMIM][CMIM-F][TfN], where no strong evidence of alkyl/fluoroalkyl chain segregation or triphilic behaviour was seen (Elstone , , 2023, 127, 7394-7407), these new mixtures show the formation of small aggregates of varying sizes of each component, even though all were co-miscible across the full range of compositions.

Evidence for an L phase in ternary deep eutectics: composition-induced L-to-L transition of AOT.

Pure and hydrated deep eutectic solvents (DES) are proposed to form self-assembled nanostructures within the fluid bulk, similar to the bicontinuous L phase common for ionic liquids (ILs). Labelled choline chloride : urea : water DES were measured using small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), showing no long-range nanostructure. However, solutions of the surfactant AOT in this DES yielded scattering consistent with the L "sponge" phase, which was fitted using the Teubner-Strey model.

Understanding the Liquid Structure in Mixtures of Ionic Liquids with Semiperfluoroalkyl or Alkyl Chains.

By mixing ionic liquids (ILs), it is possible to fine-tune their bulk and interfacial structure. This alters their physical properties and solvation behavior and is a simple way to prepare a collection of ILs whose properties can be tuned to optimize a specific application. In this study, mixtures of perfluorinated and alkylated ILs have been prepared, and links between composition, properties, and nanostructure have been investigated.

Superthermal Al Atoms as a Reactive-Atom Probe of Fluorinated Surfaces.

We demonstrate a proof-of-concept of a new analytical technique to measure relative F atom exposure at the surfaces of fluorinated materials. The method is based on reactive-atom scattering (RAS) of Al atoms, produced by pulsed laser ablation of solid Al at 532 nm. The properties of the incident ground-state Al were characterized by laser-induced fluorescence (LIF); at typical ablation fluences, the speed distribution is approximately Maxwellian at ∼45000 K, with a most-probable kinetic energy of 187 kJ mol and a mean of 560 kJ mol When these Al atoms impact the surfaces of perfluorinated solids (poly(tetrafluorethylene), PTFE) or liquids (perfluoropolyether, PFPE), gas-phase AlF products are clearly detectable by LIF on the AlF A-X band.

Structural investigation of sulfobetaines and phospholipid monolayers at the air-water interface.

Mixtures of sulfobetaine based lipids with phosphocholine phospholipids are of interest in order to study the interactions between zwitterionic surfactants and the phospholipids present in cell membranes. In this study we have investigated the structure of mixed monolayers of sulfobetaines and phosphocholine phospholipids. The sulfobetaine used has a single 18-carbon tail, and is referred to as SB3-18, and the phospholipid used is DMPC.

Small-angle neutron scattering from mixtures of long- and short-chain 3-alkyl-1-methyl imidazolium bistriflimides.

The preparation of mixtures of ionic liquids (ILs) represents an attractive strategy to tune their properties, an important aspect of which is to understand how the structure of the bulk varies with composition. In this study, small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) was used to probe mixtures of methylimidazolium-based ionic liquids [Cmim][TfN] with [Cmim][TfN]) ( = 4, 6, 8 and 10) and of [Cmim][TfN] with [Cmim][TfN] ( = 2, 4, 6 and 8). Mixtures were prepared in both contrasts, which is to say that one component would be fully hydrogenated while the other was fully deuterated, and .

Surface Structure of Alkyl/Fluoroalkylimidazolium Ionic-Liquid Mixtures.

The gas-liquid interface of ionic liquids (ILs) is critically important in many applications, for example, in supported IL phase (SILP) catalysis. Methods to investigate the interfacial structure in these systems will allow their performance to be improved in a rational way. In this study, reactive-atom scattering (RAS), surface tension measurements, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used to study the vacuum interface of mixtures of partially fluorinated and normal alkyl ILs.

Antagonistic mixing in micelles of amphiphilic polyoxometalates and hexaethylene glycol monododecyl ether.

Hypothesis: Polyoxometalates (POMs) are metal oxygen clusters with a range of interesting magnetic and catalytic properties. POMs with attached hydrocarbon chains show amphiphilic behaviour so we hypothesised that mixtures of a nonionic surfactant and anionic surfactants with a polyoxometalate cluster as headgroup would form mixed micelles, giving control of the POM density in the micelle, and which would differ in size and shape from micelles formed by the individual surfactants. Due to the high charge and large size of the POM, we suggested that these would be nonideal mixtures due to the complex interactions between the two types of surfactants.