Surface Composition/Organization of Ionic Liquids with Au Nanoparticles Revealed by High-Sensitivity Low-Energy Ion Scattering

摘要

High-sensitivity low-energy ion scattering (HSLEIS) analysis was used to elucidate the outermost layer of both functionalized and non-functionalized imidazolium ionic liquids (ILs). The IL outermost layer is composed of all atoms of both cations and anions. The HS-LEIS analyses also allow for quantitative measurement of the thickness of IL overlayers on Au nanoparticles prepared by sputter deposition, which was shown to be a monolayer of ions, as predicted by density functional theory calculations.