Since the liquid nature of Ionic liquids (IL) limits their application in solid state material, ion gels are developed by mixing the ILs with gelators. In this work, we developed a new ion gel system to synergistically increase the ionic conductivity and modulus of the ion gels. In the presence of solvent(s), amphiphilic block copolymers self-assemble into ordered mesomorphic structures (known as mesophases) with long-range order. By altering the temperature and concentration, a variety of nanostructures, such as lamellar, hexagonal, cubic, and gyroid structures, can be formed. In this project, we use mixtures of tri-block copolymers, ILs, and an oil phase containing styrene and a crosslinker to form continuous nanochannels with long-range order to decrease the morphological defects of the ion-rich domains. The polymerization of oil phase boosts the mechanical properties of the ion-conducting ion gels. Our results suggest that triblock copolymer gelation is a promising way to develop highly conductive ion gels and provides advantages in terms of variety and processing.

Ion gels by self-assembly of triblock copolymer/ionic liquid/monomer mixtures

2019 Fall National Meeting

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