Coexistence of liquid and solid phases of Bmim-PF6 ionic liquid on mica surfaces at room temperature

Yaodong Liu; Yi Zhang; Guozhong Wu; Jun Hu

doi:10.1021/ja062685u

Coexistence of liquid and solid phases of Bmim-PF6 ionic liquid on mica surfaces at room temperature

J Am Chem Soc. 2006 Jun 14;128(23):7456-7. doi: 10.1021/ja062685u.

Authors

Yaodong Liu¹, Yi Zhang, Guozhong Wu, Jun Hu

Affiliation

¹ Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, China.

PMID: 16756296
DOI: 10.1021/ja062685u

Abstract

In this communication, we report the coexistence of liquid and solid phases of room temperature ionic liquid (IL) [Bmim][PF6] on mica surfaces, observed by tapping mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) in air. Multilayers as well as drop-on-the-layer structures of the ionic liquid are revealed. The solid layers were very stable, and their orientations were affected by the mica lattice, indicating that the ionic liquid undergoes a template-induced ordering process. These results are helpful for advancing the understanding of interfacial structures of ILs on solid surfaces, the analogous structural patterns in both of its solid and liquid phases, and its heterogeneity.