Open AccessMorphology of Anion-Conducting Ionenes Investigated by X-ray Scattering and Simulation
Author(s) -
Eric M. Schibli,
Andrew G. Wright,
Steven Holdcroft,
Barbara J. Frisken
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the journal of physical chemistry b
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.864
H-Index - 392
eISSN - 1520-6106
pISSN - 1520-5207
DOI - 10.1021/acs.jpcb.7b10177
Subject(s) - polymer , ion , monomer , scattering , small angle x ray scattering , molecule , materials science , chemical physics , morphology (biology) , halide , membrane , polymer chemistry , molecular dynamics , crystallography , chemistry , chemical engineering , inorganic chemistry , computational chemistry , optics , composite material , organic chemistry , physics , biochemistry , biology , genetics , engineering
We have studied the morphology of a novel series of benzimidazole-based ionenes, methylated poly(hexamethyl-p-terphenylbenzimidazolium) (HMT-PMBI), in halide form. Materials with anion-exchange capacities ranging from 0 to 2.5 mequiv/g were studied. X-ray scattering reveals three length scales in the materials: ion-polymer spacing (4 Å), polymer-polymer interchain spacing (6 Å), and an intrachain repeat distance (20 Å). No long-range structure is apparent above the monomer length, which is rare in ion-conducting polymer membranes. In preliminary molecular dynamics simulations, water molecules were observed forming chains between ions, even at a modest level of hydration, providing an interpenetrating network where conductivity can occur.
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