RESUMO
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 [C8MIM]1-x[C10MIM-F17]x[Tf2N], [C10MIM]1-x[C8MIM-F13]x[Tf2N] and [C10MIM]1-x[C10MIM-F17]x[Tf2N], where [C8MIM][Tf2N] is 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, [C10MIM][Tf2N] is 1-decyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, [C8MIM-F13][Tf2N] is 1-(1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyl)-3-methylimidizolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide and [C10MIM-F17][Tf2N] is 1-(1H,1H,2H,2H-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 [C10MIM]1-x[C8MIM-F13]x[Tf2N]). Unlike previous studies of [C8MIM]1-x[C8MIM-F13]x[Tf2N], where no strong evidence of alkyl/fluoroalkyl chain segregation or triphilic behaviour was seen (Elstone et al., J. Phys. Chem. B, 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. Thus, while a clear polar non-polar peak (PNPP) was observed at large or small values of x, at intermediate compositions the small-angle neutron scattering at low q was dominated by scattering from these small aggregates, while at other compositions, there was little or no evidence of the PNPP. The origins of this behaviour are discussed in terms of inter-chain interactions.
RESUMO
The unique physicochemical properties of ionic liquids (ILs) attracted interest in their application as lubricants of micro/nano-electromechanical systems. This work evaluates the feasibility of using the protic ionic liquids [4-picH][HSO4], [4-picH][CH3SO3], [MIMH][HSO4], and [MIMH][CH3SO3] and the aprotic ILs [C6mim][HSO4] and [C6mim][CH3SO3] as additives to model lubricant poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG200) to lubricate silicon surfaces. Additives based on the cation [4-picH]+ exhibited the best tribological performance, with the optimal value for 2% [4-picH][HSO4] in PEG200 (w/w). Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the first stages of adsorption of the ILs at the glass surface were performed to portray the molecular behavior of the ILs added to PEG200 and their interaction with the silica substrate. For the pure ILs at the solid substrates, the MD results indicated that weak specific interactions of the cation with the glass interface are lost to accommodate the larger anion in the first contact layer. For the PEG200 + 2% [4-picH][HSO4] system, the formation of a more compact protective film adsorbed at the glass surface is revealed by a larger trans population of the dihedral angle -O(R)-C-C-O(R)- in PEG200, in comparison to the same distribution for the pure model lubricant. Our findings suggest that the enhanced lubrication performance of PEG200 with [4-picH][HSO4] arises from synergistic interactions between the protic IL and PEG200 at the adsorbed layer.