Poly(ionic liquid)s (PILs) are polyelectrolytes with ionic liquids incorporated in the polymer backbone. PILs have attracted much attention due to their unique properties such as conductivity, etc. We have developed a new synthetic approach to access well-defined PILs using activators regenerated by electron transfer atom transfer radical polymerization (ARGET ATRP). Well-controlled polymerization of the ionic liquid monomer, 1-(4-vinylbenzyl)-3-butylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, was conducted with 50 ppm or lower of a copper catalyst and tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine (TPMA) as a ligand. The resulting PILs were characterized by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) using salt-containing THF as the eluent. The polymerizations had excellent control over molecular weight and molecular weight distribution (Mw/Mn = 1.1-1.3). High chain-end functionality of the synthesized PIL homopolymers was achieved, which was con?rmed by chain extensions to further access block copolymers.

Synthesis of poly(ionic liquid)s by activators regenerated by electron transfer atom transfer radical polymerization

248th National Meeting (2014)

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