Nanostructures of ionic liquids do not break up under shear: A molecular dynamics study

Coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of a nanostructure-forming ionic liquid are performed. The reverse non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (RNEMD) technique is used to investigate the stability of the nanostructure under shear conditions. The calculations indicate that even extreme shear cannot break up these structures or alter them significantly. Thus, they are unlikely to be an impediment to shear and a cause for high viscosities.