FTIR study of Tween80/1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate/toluene microemulsions

With the aid of Tween80, an environmentally benign nonionic surfactant applied to medicine and food industry, the ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (bmimPF₆) formed IL microemulsions with toluene. The phase diagram of the ternary system was prepared at 25 °C. It was demonstrated that there were a single-phase region and a multiple phase region in the ternary phase diagram. The single-phase region could be further divided into toluene-in-bmimPF₆, bicontinuous, and bmimPF₆-in-toluene microemulsion regions by electrical conductivity. In particular, the microstructural characteristics of the microemulsions were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results indicated that it was the hydrogen-bonded interactions between bmimPF₆ and Tween80 that might be the driving force for the solubilization of bmimPF₆ into the core of the Tween80 aggregates.