Premium
DyeIonogels: Proton‐Responsive Ionogels Based on a Dye‐Ionic Liquid Exhibiting Reversible Color Change
Author(s) -
Xie ZaiLai,
Huang Xing,
Taubert Andreas
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201303016
Subject(s) - ionic liquid , materials science , ion , thermal stability , aqueous solution , ionic conductivity , chemical engineering , imide , sulfonyl , hydroxide , methyl orange , conductivity , polymer chemistry , organic chemistry , chemistry , electrode , alkyl , photocatalysis , engineering , electrolyte , catalysis
Transparent, ion‐conducting, and flexible ionogels based on the room temperature ionic liquid (IL) 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl)imide [Bmim][N(Tf) 2 ], the dye‐IL (DIL) 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium methyl orange [Bmim][MO], and poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) are prepared. Upon IL incorporation the thermal stability of the PMMA matrix significantly increases from 220 to 280 °C. The ionogels have a relatively high ionic conductivity of 10 −4 S cm −1 at 373 K. Most importantly, the ionogels exhibit a strong and reversible color change when exposed to aqueous or organic solutions containing protons or hydroxide ions. The resulting material is thus a prototype of soft multifunctional matter featuring ionic conductivity, easy processability, response to changes in the environment, and a strong readout signal, the color change, that could be used in optical data storage or environmental sensing.