Charge transport, thermodynamics, and hydrodynamics in side-chain and main-chain polymerized ionic liquids

• Applicant: Dr. Catalin Gainaru
• Subject Area: Statistical Physics, Nonlinear Dynamics, Complex Systems, Soft and Fluid Matter, Biological Physics ; Experimental Condensed Matter Physics
• Term: from 2017 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 396060266

Novel materials such as polymerized ionic liquids, regarded as potential candidates for devices with high transport and storage capabilities, are nowadays in the focus of intensive research. The current project deals with the influence of morphology on charge transport, calorimetry, and particle flow in several newly synthesized polymerized ionic liquids and their structurally-related monomeric compounds. Particular attention is paid to the role played by the degree of polymerization, the type of anions, and the position of the cations within the polymeric chains. The proposed research combines results to be obtained via linear and nonlinear dielectric spectroscopy, rheology, calorimetry, and nuclear magnetic resonance. The results will complement the currently sparse literature trying to identify the theoretical and phenomenological grounds able to describe the fascinating behavior of this newly emerging class of polymers. In particular, our investigations will include polymers with cationic fragments located along the polymeric backbone, distinct from the common situation for side-groups polymerized ionic liquids. By such means one will be able to identify the dynamics of the cations with the segmental rearrangements probed by rheology or calorimetry. Combining results to be obtained from different techniques in a broad frequency range will provide the opportunity to access the individual dynamics of the polymeric matrix and that of the freely migrating charges, thus to investigate the nature of the interrelation between the mechanical stability and the ionic mobility in these materials. We believe that the results to be obtained in this project will open new venues for a deeper understanding of charge dynamics in polymeric melts in particular and highly concentrated amorphous electrolytes in general.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: USA
• Cooperation Partners: Professor Dr. Wolf Hiller; Professor Dr. Alexei Sokolov; Dr. Christian Sternemann; Professor Dr. Jiayin Yuan