Ion diffusion in ionic liquids

Ionic liquids are liquids that are entirely composed of ions, ions that move. They have been applied in a wide range of electrochemical applications, such as batteries, fuel cells, supercapacitors, electrowinning of metals and electrochemical synthesis. Given this wide range of potential uses and the importance of ion motion to these, it is remarkable that the mobility of the ions of ionic liquids is so poorly understood. In this project we will investigate how ions in ionic liquids diffuse and particularly how this is affected by the application of an external electric field. We will use a range of experimental, e.g. fluorescence spectroscopy and NMR imaging and computational, e.g. molecular dynamics simulations techniques to probe this important behaviour.