Cellulose represents one of the most promising and readily available feedstocks for new, functionalized materials with task-specific properties. Prior work in our group has demonstrated that 1,2,3-triazolium groups can be covalently bound to cellulose using an azide-alkyne ‘click’ cyclization strategy, followed by quaternization, resulting in materials which exhibited moderate conductivity (~ 10-8 S/cm at 30 °C) and Tg values of approximately 100 °C. More recently, we have found that tethering an additional ionic liquid (imidazolium) group to the original triazolium ring resulted in a further decrease in Tg (&lt; 15 °C) indicating the amorphous nature of the materials, with Tg dependency on both the length of the tether and the counteranion employed. Stress and strain at break of the materials were found by dynamic mechanical analysis to be in excess of 2 MPa and 150 %, respectively, across all samples, indicating not only a high degree of mechanical robustness, but also elasticity. Enhancements in conductivity as high as 2-orders of magnitude were found when compared to the single-IL functionalized cellulosic materials previously reported. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, these materials exhibit shape-memory behavior due to the dynamic nature of the ionic/hydrogen bonding system. Shape-memory behavior was evaluated using dynamic mechanical analysis, the results of which will be discussed. In the end, cellulose can be utilized as a sustainable, foundational biopolymer in the preparation of new conductive materials.

Shape-memory and conductive properties of dual-ionic liquid-functionalized cellulosic materials

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