Molecular Dynamics Simulation of the Structure and Dynamics of Water-1-Alkyl-3-methylimidazolium Ionic Liquid Mixtures

We have performed extensive molecular dynamic simulations to analyze the influence of cation and anion natures, and of water concentration, on the structure and dynamics of water-1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium ionic liquid mixtures. The dependence on water concentration of the radial distribution functions, coordination numbers, and hydrogen bonding degree between the different species has been systematically analyzed for different lengths of the cation alkyl chain (alkyl = ethyl, butyl, hexyl, and octyl) and several counterions. These include two halogens of different sizes and positions in Hoffmeister series, Cl- and Br-, and the highly hydrophobic inorganic anion PF6- throughout its whole solubility regime. The formation of water clusters in the mixture has been verified, and the influences of both anion hydrophobicity and cation chain length on the structure and size of these clusters have been analyzed. The water cluster size is shown to be relatively independent of the cation chain length, but strongly dependent on the hydrophobicity of the anion, which also determines critically the network formation of water and therefore the miscibility of the ionic liquid. The greater influence of the anion relative to the cation one is seen to be reflected in all the analyzed physical properties. Finally, single-particle dynamics in IL-water mixtures is considered, obtaining the self-diffusion coefficients and the velocity autocorrelation functions of water molecules in the mixture, and analyzing the effect of cation, anion, and water concentration on the duration of the ballistic regime and on the time of transition to the diffusive regime. Complex non-Markovian behavior was detected at intermediate times within an interval progressively shorter as water concentration increases.