Ion Transport and Interfacial Dynamics in Disordered Block Copolymers of Ammonium-Based Polymerized Ionic Liquids

A series of diblock copolymers bearing a polymerized ionic liquid (polyIL) block (poly(N-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl-N,N-dimethyl-N-ethylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide)) and a noncharged block (poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)) or poly(n-butyl methacrylate) (PBuMA)) were studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), and broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) to probe the effect of ion concentration on the morphology and ion transport in these polyelectrolytes. Two majority PMMA block copolymers, having mole ratios of the polyIL of 0.19 and 0.22, exhibited evidence of aggregation indicated by interfacial polarization in the dielectric spectra. The 0.19 mole ratio sample also displayed two distinct glass transitions by DSC. The SAXS measurements showed that no long-range order was present in these samples. The ionic conductivity of these samples were lower than the polyIL homopolymer due to hindered ion transport at the aggregate boundaries. Copolymers with majority polyIL blocks were found to exhibit disorder based on SAXS and DSC measurements. Furthermore, at a mole fraction of 0.91 of the polyIL the ionic conductivity was enhanced by a factor of ca. 1.5 with respect to the polyIL homopolymer, with a similar increase observed for the static dielectric permittivity. The effective number density and mobility of the ions were calculated for these systems from BDS and WAXS data, indicating that the enhancement of the ionic conductivity corresponds to an increase in the density of mobile charge carriers. The higher effective number density of charge carriers correlates with increased static dielectric permittivity, suggesting that ion pair dissociation is the likely mechanism behind the observed enhancement of ion transport. This study showcases the wealth of information that can be obtained from a combination of complementary experimental techniques.