Refined parameters of an atomistic interaction potential model for the room temperature ionic liquid 1-n-butyl,3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate are presented. Classical molecular dynamics simulations have been carried out to validate this fully flexible all-atom model. It predicts the density of the liquid at different temperatures between 300 and 500 K within 1.4% of the experimental value. Intermolecular radial distribution functions and the spatial distribution functions obtained from the new model are in close agreement with ab initio simulations. The calculated diffusion coefficients of ions and the surface tension of the liquid agree well with experiment.

The structure of the planar liquid-vapor interface of a room-temperature ionic liquid, 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF6]), 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.

A model to perform coarse grained molecular dynamics simulations of room temperature ionic liquids of the family 1-n-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate has been developed. Large scale simulations of ionic liquids with butyl, heptyl, and decyl side chains have been carried out. Calculated structure factors demonstrate intermediate range ordering in these liquids. The spatial correlations between anions are shown to dominate the neutron or X-ray scattering at low wave vectors. Ionic liquids with long side chains exhibit a bicontinuous morphology, one region consisting of polar moieties and the other of non-polar, alkyl tails.

Ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) studies have been carried out on liquid 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF6]) and its mixture with CO2 using the Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics (CPMD) method. Results from AIMD and empirical potential molecular dynamics (MD) have been compared and were found to differ in some respects. With a strong resemblance to the crystal, the AIMD simulated neat liquid exhibits many cation-anion hydrogen bonds, a feature that is almost absent in the MD results. The anions were observed to be strongly polarized in the condensed phase. The addition of CO2 increased the probability of this hydrogen bond formation. CO2 molecules in the vicinity of the ions of [bmim][PF6] exhibit larger deviations from linearity in their instantaneous configurations. The polar environment of the liquid induces a dipole moment in CO2, lifting the degeneracy of its bending mode. The calculated splitting in the vibrational mode compares well with infrared spectroscopic data. The solvation of CO2 in [bmim][PF6] is primarily facilitated by the anion, as seen from the radial and spatial distribution functions. CO2 molecules were found to be aligned tangential to the PF6 spheres with their most probable location being the octahedral voids of the anion. The structural data obtained from AIMD simulations can serve as a benchmark to refine interaction potentials for this important room-temperature ionic liquid.

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