Ion partitioning between two immiscible solvents is a well know phenomenon occurring in a wide variety of biological and physicochemical systems, due to differences in the solvation energy of the electrolyte in both media. In the absence of ion transfer, we have proposed recently a coarse-grained approach including ionic excluded volume, ionic size asymmetry, and image charge effects. These ingredients have allowed us to reproduce experimental measurements of excess surface tension in a wide range of electrolyte concentrations. In this work, ion transfer between two immiscible electrolytes contained in a thin nano-slit is studied via a novel mean field theory and molecular coarse-grained simulations. The ion partitioning and the ionic cloud near the liquid interface reveal a rich phenomenology that could be useful in technological applications such as label free detection, drug delivery, or liquid state nano-electronic devices.

Ion partitioning in confined oil/water interfaces

247th National Meeting (2014)

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