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Supramolecular Ionic‐Liquid Gels with High Ionic Conductivity
Author(s) -
Maršavelski Aleksandra,
Smrečki Vilko,
Vianello Robert,
Žinić Mladen,
MogušMilanković Andrea,
Šantić Ana
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201500887
Subject(s) - ionic liquid , tetrafluoroborate , supramolecular chemistry , ionic conductivity , molecule , conductivity , ionic bonding , ion , electrolyte , chemistry , chemical engineering , materials science , chemical physics , organic chemistry , catalysis , electrode , engineering
Supramolecular ionogels were prepared by the gelation of room‐temperature ionic liquid 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([BMIm][BF 4 ]) with ( S , S )‐bis(leucinol)oxalamide. Remarkably, the ionic conductivity of solutions and ionogels with low gelator concentrations is higher than that of neat [BMIm][BF 4 ]. On the basis of molecular dynamics simulations and quantum mechanical calculations, the origin of this phenomenon is attributed to the higher affinity of gelator molecules towards [BF 4 ] − ions, which reduces the electrostatic attraction between [BMIm] + and [BF 4 ] − and thus increases their mobility. With increasing gelator concentration, the ionic conductivity decreases due to the formation of a denser gelator matrix, which hinders the pathways for ionic transport. However, even for very dense ionogels, this decrease is less than one order of magnitude relative to neat [BMIm][BF 4 ], and thus they can be classified as highly conductive materials with strong potential for application as functional electrolytes.