Polarizability versus mobility: atomistic force field for ionic liquids

Based on classical molecular dynamics simulations, we discuss the impact of Coulombic interactions on a comprehensive set of properties of room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) containing 1,3-dimethylimidazolium (MMIM(+)), N-butylpyridinium (BPY(+)), and bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl)imide (TFSI(-)) ions. Ionic transport is found to be noticeably hindered by the excessive Coulombic energy, originating from the neglect of electronic polarization in the condensed phase of these RTILs. Starting from the models, recently suggested by Lopes and Padua, we show that realistic ionic dynamics can be achieved by the uniform scaling of electrostatic charges on all interaction sites. The original model systematically overestimates density and heat of vaporization of RTILs. Since density linearly depends on charge scaling, it is possible to use it as a convenient beacon to promptly derive a correct scaling factor. Based on the simulations of [BPY][TFSI] and [MMIM][TFSI] over a wide temperature range, we conclude that the suggested technique is feasible to greatly improve quality of the already existing non-polarizable FFs for RTILs.