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1. Recent advances in molecular simulations of ionic liquid–ionic liquid mixtures

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsc.2019.02.009  

   Dhakal, Pratik; Shah, Jindal K. (August 2019, Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry)
2. Ion Transport in Polymerized Ionic Liquid–Ionic Liquid Blends

   https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.8b01460  

   Mogurampelly, Santosh; Ganesan, Venkat (November 2018, Macromolecules)
3. Flexo-Ionic Effect of Ionic Liquid Crystal Elastomers

   https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26144234  

   Rajapaksha, C. P.; Gunathilaka, M. D.; Narute, Suresh; Albehaijan, Hamad; Piedrahita, Camilo; Paudel, Pushpa; Feng, Chenrun; Lüssem, Björn; Kyu, Thein; Jákli, Antal (July 2021, Molecules)

   The first study of the flexo-ionic effect, i.e., mechanical deformation-induced electric signal, of the recently discovered ionic liquid crystal elastomers (iLCEs) is reported. The measured flexo-ionic coefficients were found to strongly depend on the director alignment of the iLCE films and can be over 200 µC/m. This value is orders of magnitude higher than the flexo-electric coefficient found in insulating liquid crystals and is comparable to the well-developed ionic polymers (iEAPs). The shortest response times, i.e., the largest bandwidth of the flexo-ionic responses, is achieved in planar alignment, when the director is uniformly parallel to the substrates. These results render high potential for iLCE-based devices for applications in sensors and wearable micropower generators. 

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4. Evidence of a liquid–liquid transition in a glass-forming ionic liquid

   https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2020878118  

   Harris, Matthew A.; Kinsey, Thomas; Wagle, Durgesh V.; Baker, Gary A.; Sangoro, Joshua (March 2021, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

   A liquid–liquid transition (LLT) is a transformation from one liquid to another through a first-order transition. The LLT is fundamental to the understanding of the liquid state and has been reported in a few materials such as silicon, phosphorus, triphenyl phosphite, and water. Furthermore, it has been suggested that the unique properties of materials such as water, which is critical for life on the planet, are linked to the existence of the LLT. However, the experimental evidence for the existence of an LLT in many molecular liquids remains controversial, due to the prevalence and high propensity of the materials to crystallize. Here, we show evidence of an LLT in a glass-forming trihexyltetradecylphosphonium borohydride ionic liquid that shows no tendency to crystallize under normal laboratory conditions. We observe a step-like increase in the static dielectric permittivity at the transition. Furthermore, the sizes of nonpolar local domains and ion-coordination numbers deduced from wide-angle X-ray scattering also change abruptly at the LLT. We independently corroborate these changes in local organization using Raman spectroscopy. The experimental access to the evolution of local order and structural dynamics across a liquid–liquid transition opens up unprecedented possibilities to understand the nature of the liquid state. 

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5. Surface Curvature Enhances the Electrotunability of Ionic Liquid Lubrication

   https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c03519  

   Zheng, Qianlu; Hawthorne, Nathaniel; Batteas, James D; Espinosa-Marzal, Rosa M (February 2024, Langmuir)