At the microscopic scale, we use coarse-grained MD simulations to characterize the spatial distribution of ions and their dynamics in the region between two adjacent functionalized nanoparticles (Figure ). At this level, the polymer chains and anions tethered to the nanoparticles, the cations and oligomeric solvent are all accounted for explicitly. However, we neglect the surface curvature effects and model the interparticle region as a confined region between two flat surfaces. The distance between the two surfaces, L z , is varied to model a range of nanoparticle separations. The model parameters were chosen based on the electrolyte system reported by Schaefer et al. Accordingly, both surfaces were grafted with linear polymer chains consisting of 18 beads, each of which represents a single monomer.