Interfacial Water and Microheterogeneity in Aqueous Solutions of Ionic Liquids

[Image: see text] In this work, aqueous solutions of two prototypical ionic liquids (ILs), [BMIM][BF(4)] and [BMIM][TfO], were investigated by UV Raman spectroscopy and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) in the water-rich domain, where strong heterogeneities at mesoscopic length scales (microheterogeneity) were expected. Analyzing Raman data by a differential method, the solute-correlated (SC) spectrum was extracted from the OH stretching profiles, emphasizing specific hydration features of the anions. SC-UV Raman spectra pointed out the molecular structuring of the interfacial water in these microheterogeneous IL/water mixtures, in which IL aggregates coexist with bulk water domains. The organization of the interfacial water differs for the [BMIM][BF(4)] and [BMIM][TfO] solutions, being affected by specific anion–water interactions. In particular, in the case of [BMIM][BF(4)], which forms weaker H-bonds with water, the aggregation properties clearly depend on concentration, as reflected by local changes in the interfacial water. On the other hand, stronger water–anion hydrogen bonds and more persistent hydration layers were observed for [BMIM][TfO], which likely prevent changes in IL aggregates. The modeling of SANS profiles, extended to [BPy][BF(4)] and [BPy][TfO], evidences the occurrence of significant concentration fluctuations for all of the systems: this appears as a rather general phenomenon that can be ascribed to the presence of IL aggregation, mainly induced by (cation-driven) hydrophobic interactions. Nevertheless, larger concentration fluctuations were observed for [BMIM][BF(4)], suggesting that anion–water interactions are relevant in modulating the microheterogeneity of the mixture.