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Physical gels of [BMIM][BF 4 ] by N‐ tert ‐butylacrylamide/ethylene oxide based triblock copolymer self‐assembly: Synthesis, thermomechanical, and conducting properties
Author(s) -
Sharma Nitin,
Lakhman Rubinder Kaur,
Zhou Yuxiang,
Kasi Rajeswari M.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.38629
Subject(s) - copolymer , ethylene oxide , materials science , electrolyte , ionic liquid , ionic conductivity , polyethylene oxide , polymer , lithium (medication) , tetrafluoroborate , polymer chemistry , chemical engineering , oxide , ion , chemistry , composite material , organic chemistry , catalysis , electrode , medicine , engineering , metallurgy , endocrinology
We report a strategy to prepare and characterize mechanically robust, transparent, thermoreversible physical gels of an ionic liquid 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, [BMIM][BF 4 ], to harness its good ionic conductivity and electrolytic properties for solid‐state electrolyte and lithium ion battery applications. Physical gels are prepared using a triblock copolymer comprising central polyethylene oxide block that is soluble in [BMIM][BF 4 ] and the end blocks, poly( N‐tert ‐butylacrylamide), that are insoluble in [BMIM][BF 4 ]. Transparent, strong, physical ion‐gels with significant mechanical strength can be formed at low concentration of the triblock copolymer (∼5 wt %), unlike previous reports in which chemical gels of [BMIM][BF 4 ] are obtained at very high polymer concentration. Our gels are thermoreversible and thermally stable, showing 1–4% weight loss up to 200°C in air. Gelation behavior, mechanical properties, and ionic conductivity of these ion‐gels can be easily tuned by varying the concentration or N‐tert ‐butylacrylamide block length in the triblock copolymer. These new non‐volatile, reprocessable, mechanically robust, [BMIM][BF 4 ]‐based physical ion‐gels obtained from a simple and convenient preparation method are promising materials for solid‐state electrolyte applications. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013