Role of solubilized water in the reverse ionic liquid microemulsion of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate/TX-100/benzene

The ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF4) can form nonaqueous microemulsions with benzene by the aid of nonionic surfactant TX-100. The effect of water on ionic liquid-in-oil (IL/O) microemulsions was studied, and it was shown that the addition of small amount of water to the IL microemulsion contributed to the stability of microemulsion and thus increased the amount of solubilized bmimBF4 in the microemulsion. The conductivity measurements also showed that the attractive interactions between IL microdroplets were weakened, that is, the IL/O microemulsion becomes more stable in the present of some water. Fourier transform IR was carried out to analyze the states of the added water, and the result showed that these water molecules mainly behaved as bound water and trapped water, indicating that the water molecules are located in the palisade layers of the IL/O microemulsion. Furthermore, 1H NMR and 19F NMR spectra suggested that the added water molecules built the hydrogen binding network of imidazolium cations and H2O, BF4- anion and H2O, and at the same time the electronegative oxygen atoms of the oxyethylene units of TX-100 and water in the palisade layers, which made the palisade layers more firm and thus increased the stability of the microemulsion. The study can help in further understanding the formation mechanism of microemulsions. In addition, the characteristic solubilization behavior of the added water can provide an aqueous interface film for hydrolysis reactions and therefore may be used as an ideal medium to prepare porous or hollow nanomaterials.