Structure of aqueous solutions of ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate by small-angle neutron scattering

The structure of aqueous solutions of a prototype ionic liquid, the short alkyl chain 1-butyl-3-methylimidazoliumtetrafluoroborate([C(4)mim][BF(4)]) has been investigated by small-angle neutron scattering. Concentration fluctuations and Kirkwood-Buff integrals have been calculated, and the results are in good agreement with corresponding data calculated herein from vapor pressure measurements. The large concentration fluctuations and Kirkwood-Buff integral values indicate that the system is in the vicinity of phase separation, which is known to occur some 20 K below room temperature, at a salt mole fraction of around 0.075.