Imidazole is a well-known heterocycle occurring in many natural and synthetic products. In recent years, imidazolium ionic liquids (ILs) have been one of the most foremost uses of imidazoles, which has also generated interest in cationic poly(IL) and ionene (so called "main-chain" polycations") materials formed from imidazoles and/or ILs. In particular, ionenes offer unique opportunities to create hybrids with the structural components of high-performance polymers such as Kapton, Kevlar and PEEK. that are simultaneously able to hold "free" ILs within the polymer matrix. This talk details our work in designing and synthesizing imidazole monomers through a variety of strategies including opportunities arising from the depolymerization of some common plastic wastes. The covalent linking of imidazoles to other functional groups provides unique opportunities to create charged polymers with tailored architectures for applications including gas separations, self-healing materials, and 3D printing (additive manufacturing).

Molecular design of imidazoles as a route to new monomers and unprecedented polymers for separations and 3D printing

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.