Surface orientation in ionic liquids

New surface tension data supports models of surface orientations previously derived from direct recoil spectrometry (DRS) data for the cations of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium ionic liquids. For shorter-chain hexafluorophosphate compounds the favored average orientation appears to be one where the cation is oriented vertically with the N atoms uppermost, but the alkyl substituents do not protrude out of the surface. For longer chains or for compounds containing the smaller tetrafluoroborate anion the surface tension and DRS data are consistent with a shift to an average orientation embodying a rotation that moves the methyl group towards the surface.