title: Unravelling nanoconfined films of ionic liquids.
abstract: The confinement of an ionic liquid between charged solid surfaces is treated using an exactly solvable 1D Coulomb gas model. The theory highlights the importance of two dimensionless parameters: the fugacity of the ionic liquid, and the electrostatic interaction energy of ions at closest approach, in determining how the disjoining pressure exerted on the walls depends on the geometrical confinement. Our theory reveals that thermodynamic fluctuations play a vital role in the "squeezing out" of charged layers as the confinement is increased. The model shows good qualitative agreement with previous experimental data, with all parameters independently estimated without fitting.
authors.affiliation: Mathematical Institute, Andrew Wiles Building, University of Oxford, Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6GG, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Alpha A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Mathematical Institute, Andrew Wiles Building, University of Oxford, Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6GG, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Dominic
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vella
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Perkin
authors.affiliation: Mathematical Institute, Andrew Wiles Building, University of Oxford, Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6GG, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goriely