Surface study of metal-containing ionic liquids by means of photoemission and absorption spectroscopies

The vacuum/liquid interface of different ionic liquids obtained by dissolving bistriflimide salts of Ag, Al, Cu, Ni, and Zn in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bistriflimide ([bmim][Tf2N]) was investigated under vacuum using AR-XPS and NEXAFS. The XPS spectra show chemical shifts of the nitrogen of the bistriflimide anion as a function of the metal type, indicating different strength of the coordination bonds. In silver bearing ILs, silver ions were found to be only weakly coordinated. On the contrary, Ni, Cu, Zn, and especially Al exhibit large chemical shifts attributable to strong interaction with the bistriflimide ions. The outermost surface was enriched with or depleted of metal ions as a function of the nature of the metals. Nickel and zinc tend to slightly concentrate at the surface while copper, silver, and especially aluminum are depleted at the surface. We also observed that the aliphatic alkyl chains of the cations tend to protrude outside the surface in all systems studied. However, the presence of metals generally increases the amount of bistriflimide at the vacuum/liquid interface.