Controlling mechanical properties of ultrahigh molecular weight ion gels by chemical structure of ionic liquids and monomers. Issue 45 (11th November 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kamiyama, Yuji; Tamate, Ryota; Fujii, Kenta; Ueki, Takeshi
• Is Part Of: Soft matter. Volume 18:Issue 45(2022)
• Page Start: 8582
• Page End: 8590
• Publication Date: 2022-11-11
• Subjects: Soft condensed matter -- Periodicals; 530.413
• DOI: 10.1039/d2sm00853j
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1744-683X

Abstract

Abstract : The effect of ionic liquid and monomer structures on the mechanical properties of ultrahigh molecular weight ion gels was investigated. Abstract : A new class of ion gels, termed ultrahigh molecular weight (UHMW) gels, formed by physical entanglement of ultrahigh molecular weight polymers in ionic liquids, are synthesised using facile one step radical polymerisation with significantly low initiator conditions, and exhibit superior mechanical characteristics such as stretchability, recyclability, and room temperature self-healing ability. In this study, UHMW gels are synthesised using various combinations of monomer and IL structures, and the effect of their chemical structures on the physicochemical properties of UHMW gels are thoroughly investigated. UHMW polymers are prepared in situ for all combinations of ILs and monomers used in this study, indicating the wide applicability of this fabrication strategy. The structure–property relationships between chemical structures and mechanical properties of UHMW gels are investigated in detail. Furthermore, the differences in self-healing efficiency of UHMW gels depending on the chemical structure is discussed in terms of individual polymer conformation and polymer–polymer interaction based on molecular dynamics simulations.