The development of new and efficient strategies for polymerization is crucial for use in sealed atmospheres, such as spacecraft, space-based habitation pods, or even submarines. Traditional polymer construction materials, i.e. plastics, often contain non-reacted monomer molecules that may cause some material off-gassing adding to the chemical contaminants in the small, sealed space. Recently, ionic liquids specifically designed to be monomers can be polymerized to make new ionic liquid polymers that are expected to exhibit thermal and chemical stability and have virtually no vapor pressure. In this research, the route to a suitable ionic liquid monomer will involve the preparation of and subsequent polymerization of various isocyanate esters. These isocyanate groups have been demonstrated to undergo ring cyclization reactions in the presence of silver acetate to form substituted imidazole rings. These substituted isocyanates can be linked to form elaborate polyester backbones that also contain the imidazole ring for subsequent conversion to ionic liquids. The research is currently ongoing and this route is expected to be a powerful tool in material science.

Development of difunctional imidazole into ionic liquid monomers

ACS Spring 2022

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