Understanding Ionic Liquid Transport Properties via Two-State Bursty Dynamics

In this study, we analyzed the transport mechanisms of lithium ions in ionic liquid systems using a two-state bursty dynamics model. Bursty dynamics describes a system where many events occur in quick succession over a short period, followed by long periods of inactivity. We distinguished soft and hard states of lithium ion clusters using a mathematical algorithm based on structural motion. It was observed that the soft state exhibited bursty behavior with faster diffusion (vehicular motion) and more dynamic interactions (structural motion). Interestingly, we found that the duration of the soft and hard states closely follows a Markovian random state, as verified through statistical and mathematical analysis, with results partially aligning with GDyNet simulations. However, the survival time distribution of lithium ions and anions follows a power law, indicating that the transport mechanism is governed by bursty dynamics rather than a simple random process. We introduced the burstiness parameter to verify this, and ultimately validated the two-state model with a mathematical analysis of the functions. Finally, we tested this across various ionic liquid systems, where higher temperatures and smaller anions resulted in faster motion with stronger random behavior, while the opposite conditions led to more bursty behavior.