Solvation dynamics in ionic fluids: an extended Debye-Hückel dielectric continuum model.

Motivated by our recent proposition on the possibility of using dielectric continuum models to interpret experimental measurements of solvation dynamics in room temperature ionic liquids [J. Phys. Chem. A 110, 8623 (2006)], some detailed simulation studies are performed to test the validity of our proposition. From these simulation studies, it seems to be justified that an extended Debye-Hückel continuum model can be used to understand the solvation dynamics of ionic fluids. The theoretical underpinning of such an extended Debye-Hückel model is presented from the general dispersion relation in electrodynamics. The connection with the static extension from the dressed ion theory of electrolyte solutions is also discussed. Such a connection between the Debye-Hückel theory and the dispersion relation may be exploited to enhance our understanding of the electric double layer problem not only for the static case but also for dynamic situations.