Influence of perfluoroalkyl-chains on the surface properties of 1-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide ionic liquids

Abstract A series of 1-(1 H ,1 H ,2 H ,2 H -perfluoroalkyl-)-3-methyl-imidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide ionic liquids with varying lengths of the perfluorinated side chain was synthesized and some of their important physical properties were compared to their non-fluorinated analogs. They were found to have a high thermal stability, wide liquid range and higher or comparable polarities. Furthermore evidences for the formation of fluorous domains in the bulk ionic liquids were found. Their contact angles on various substrates were determined using the high-precision drop shape analysis (HPDSA) approach and were found to show a greatly modified behavior on all investigated surfaces.