title: "Washing-out" ionic liquids from polyethylene glycol to form aqueous biphasic systems.
abstract: The molecular-level mechanisms behind the formation of aqueous biphasic systems (ABS) composed of ionic liquids (ILs) and polymers are hitherto not completely understood. For the first time, it is herein shown that polymer-IL-based ABS are a result of a "washing-out" phenomenon, and not of a salting-out effect of the IL over the polymer as assumed in the past few years. Novel evidence is herein provided by experimental results combined with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Química, CICECO, Universidade de Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal. jcoutinho@ua.pt.
authors.forename: Luciana I N
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Tomé
authors.forename: Jorge F B
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.forename: Robin D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.forename: Mara G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Freire
authors.forename: José R B
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.forename: João A P
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Coutinho
mesh_terms: D052578:Ionic Liquids / Q000737:chemistry*; D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D052578:Ionic Liquids; D014867:Water; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols