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Ionic liquid mediated surface micropatterning of polymer blends
Author(s) -
Lasseuguette Elsa,
McClements Jake,
Koutsos Vasileios,
Schäfer Thomas,
Ferrari MariaChiara
Publication year - 2018
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.46109
Subject(s) - ionic liquid , materials science , polymer , microstructure , contact angle , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , chemical engineering , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , solvent , micropatterning , polymer chemistry , chloroform , casting , composite material , chemistry , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , catalysis , engineering
ABSTRACT A polymer of intrinsic porosity (i.e., PIM‐1) has been blended with different ionic liquids (ILs) in order to evaluate the effect of the ILs on the microstructure of the polymer blend. [C 8 MIM][Cl], [BMIM][DCa], [BMPyr][DCa], and [BMIM][Tf 2 N] have been selected and were mixed with PIM‐1. Polymer blends containing up to 80 wt % of ILs were prepared by a casting method with chloroform as solvent. SEM images show that during the film formation a structuring of the surface appears depending on the nature and the concentration of ILs, with appearance of well‐defined microstructure in the case of [BMIM][Tf 2 N] and [BMIM][DCa]. In the case of [BMIM][Tf 2 N]/PIM‐1 film, the lower IL concentration induces the denser film with small micropatterns onto the surface. AFM analysis indicates that the ILs are well dispersed on the surface. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and water contact angle measurements show that a gradient of IL concentration is observed across the film thickness. It is demonstrated that ILs are versatile co‐solvents for inducing controlled micropatterns in polymer membrane surfaces. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135 , 46109.