Double-Layer in Ionic Liquids:  Paradigm Change?

Applications of ionic liquids at electrified interfaces to energy-storage systems, electrowetting devices, or nanojunction gating media cannot proceed without a deep understanding of the structure and properties of the interfacial double layer. This article provides a detailed critique of the present work on this problem. It promotes the point of view that future considerations of ionic liquids should be based on the modern statistical mechanics of dense Coulomb systems, or density-functional theory, rather than classical electrochemical theories which hinge on a dilute-solution approximation. The article will, however, contain more questions than answers. To trigger the discussion, it starts with a simplified…