At the interface: solvation and designing ionic liquids

Ionic liquids’ (ILs) remarkable and tunable physicochemical properties mean they have distinct performance advantages over conventional solvents in many settings. However, the use of ILs in surface-dependent processes (e.g. electrodeposition, heterogeneous catalysis, dye solar cells) is hindered by the lack of a systematic understanding of IL interfacial structure. In this Perspective, we highlight recent experiments which show interfacial IL nanostructure is a consequence of both surface-specific and bulk liquid interactions. These results enable us to develop molecular design rules for controlling interfacial IL behavior.