Conductive Composites

High-conductivity composites of polymers and ionic liquids were synthesized in situ by frontal polymerization. By employing frontal polymerization instead of the traditional batch polymerization, polymer composites with high salt percentages were synthesized while precluding macroscopic phase separation. The ionic liquid salts were used in place of organic plasticizers for acrylate polymer matrices. Using a solution of ammonium persulfate in dimethyl sulfoxide as an initiator, self-sustaining polymerization fronts were realized at high salt:monomer/polymer ratios. The resultant polymers had high electrical conductivities, between 10-3 - 10-2 S cm-1. DSC studies show that unlike composites of polyethers and chloroaluminates, the acrylate matrices exhibit a decrease in the crystallinity of the polymer-salt composites as the composition of the salt additives increases and, consequently, an increase in electrical conductivity is observed.

Home