Ionenes are ion-containing polymers where the ionic group is anchored directly into the backbone of the repeating unit. Here, imidazolium groups were incorporated into a covalently crosslinked ionene framework using thiol-ene photopolymerization. The crosslink density was controlled using two synthetic variations: (a) the length of the alkenyl group on the original imidazolium-containing ene monomer and (b) the thiol:ene functional group ratio. In general, networks in which a stoichiometric thiol:ene functional group ratio was employed provided the highest glass transition temperatures and crosslink density, which resulted in the lowest anhydrous ionic conductivities. A combination of increasing the chain length of the ene monomer and a thiol:ene functional group ratio in which excess ene was utilized provided the highest ionic conductivities (~10<sup>-6</sup> S/m at 20 °C).  Overall, this discussion will demonstrate that, with precise control of the network architecture, that the thermal, mechanical and conductive properties can be appropriately tuned.

Effect of precise control of crosslink density on the thermal, mechanical and conductive properties of crosslinked ionene networks

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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