Molecular Insights into the Electrowetting Behavior of Aqueous Ionic Liquid

Abstract: Molecular dynamics simulations were employed to study the wetting behavior of nanoscale aqueous hydrophilic and hydrophobic Imidazolium based ionic liquid (IL) droplets on a solid graphite substrate subjected to the perpendicular electric field. Imminent transformation in the droplet configuration was observed at E = 0.08 V/{\AA} both for hydrophobic ILs [EMIM][NTF2] and SPC/E water droplets. However, for hydrophilic, [EMIM][BF4], the droplet wets asymmetrically within electric field E = 0.09 V/{\AA} for lower weight percentages of ILs and E = 0.1 V/{\AA} at a higher weight percentage of ILs (i.e., 50wt%), because of the strong interaction of ILs with the sheet. We explore the impact of electric-field through various parameters such as mass density distribution, contact angle, orientation, and hydrogen bonds. Keywords: electro-wetting; contact angle; aqueous hydrophilic and hydrophobic Imidazolium ILs, molecular dynamic simulation