Ionic liquids nanoconfined in zeolite-templated carbon: A computational study

Molecular dynamics simulations are reported for a protic (ethylammonium nitrate) and an aprotic (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate) ionic liquid nanoconfined inside a faujasite-templated carbon. The structure and dynamics of ionic species inside nanotubes of relevant sizes are studied in order to understand the behavior of the dense ionic solvents in the zeolite-templated carbon. The structure (density, coordination numbers) of the confined fluid reflects a mixed dimensionality inside the zeolite-templated carbon, while the single-particle dynamics shows fundamental changes relative to that of ionic liquids confined in carbon nanotubes. Finally, no significant differences are found between the protic and the aprotic ionic liquids, which seems to suggest that the influence of hydrogen bonding is heavily suppressed inside the zeolite-templated carbon. •Protic and aprotic ionic liquids nanoconfinement inside a zeolite-templated carbon•Structure and single-particle dynamics of ions inside nanotubes analyzed•Density in subnanometric carbon nanotubes governed by dispersive interactions•Structure and dynamics of ions inside a zeolite-templated carbon analyzed•Zeolite-templated carbon modeled as a system of non-integer dimension