Microstructures, interactions and dynamics properties studies of <i>N</i>-methyldiethanolamine + guanidinium triflate ionic liquid + water tertiary system at the standard temperature

<p>Molecular dynamics simulations with an all-atom force field have been carried out in order to understand the phase equilibrium behaviour of ternary aqueous mixtures containing guanidinium triflate ionic liquid [gua][OTf] and water mixed with <i>N</i>-methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) in different function composition at the standard temperature of 298.15 K. A very good numerical agreement has been obtained for the prediction of the mixture densities. The analysis of structural and dynamic properties showed that the molecular level of ternary mixtures is slightly affected by the presence of MDEA and [gua][OTf] molar fractions. For MDEA–water interactions in [gua][OTf] media, we found that MDEA prefers to be surrounded by water molecules rather than by MDEA molecules even at a high MDEA molar fraction. While for [gua][OTf]–water interaction in MDEA media, as [gua][OTf] molar fraction increases, water molecules replace counterions in the coordination shell of both ions, thus weakening their interaction. On the other hand, for MDEA–[gua][OTf] interactions in water media, we have found that as the molar fraction of [gua][OTf] increases, a sulfonate group from anion appears to have a stronger association by making hydrogen bonding with MDEA molecules. The chemical process using ionic liquids (ILs) as solvents is commonly limited by their high viscosity. Based on their physical properties such as viscosities, these ternary solvents can be applied in natural gas industry, such as removing carbon dioxide using aqueous MDEA and IL at high pressure.