Layering at an ionic liquid-vapor interface: A molecular dynamics simulation study of [bmim][PF₆]

Abstract

The structure of the planar liquid-vapor interface of a room-temperature ionic liquid, 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF_6]), is studied using atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. Layering of the ions at the interface is observed as oscillations in the corresponding number density profiles. These oscillations, however, are diminished in amplitude in the electron density profile, due to a near cancellation in the contributions from the anions and the cations. An enhancement by 12% in the electron density at the interface over its value in the bulk liquid is observed, in excellent agreement with X-ray reflectivity experiments. The anions are found to predominantly contribute to this increase in the interfacial electron density. The cations present at the interface are oriented anisotropically. Their butyl chains are observed to be preferentially oriented along the interface normal and to project outside the liquid surface, thus imparting a hydrophobic character. In the densest region of the interface, the imidazolium ring plane is found to lie parallel to the surface normal, in agreement with direct recoil spectroscopy experiments.