Star polymers are attractive components for soft nanostructured materials because their heterogeneous segmental densities, soft particle interactions, and anomalous phase behavior generally expand their functionality. While the diverse range of properties and assembly behavior of branched polyelectrolytes have long been explored, poly(ionic liquid)s (PILs) with star architectures have received relatively little attention. Here, the interactions of an imidazolium-based star poly(ionic liquid) with bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide counterions and different degrees of polymerization are investigated at interfaces and within both nanoscale and microscale films. We find that the amphiphilicity of ionic liquid moieties suppresses association of star PILs at the air-water interface whereas their linear counterparts irreversibly aggregate. Additionally, linear and star PILs are demonstrated to have different responsive internal and surface microstructures in multilayer thin films. Due to their orthogonal solubilities in aqueous solutions and organic solvents, solvent-annealing is demonstrated to control the dewetting at interfaces. Moreover, the role of star architecture and their responsive morphologies on the thermal, mechanical, and ion conducting properties is elucidated. These studies outline the advantages of using branched polymer topologies to guide the organization of ionic liquid materials with tunable functional properties.

Interactions, organization, and functional properties of star poly(ionic liquid) assemblies

256th National Meeting (2018)

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