Ionogels Obtained by Thiol-ene Photopolymerization-Physicochemical Characterization and Application in Electrochemical Capacitors.

Flexible ionogels with good mechanical properties were obtained in situ by thiol-ene photopolymerization of trimethylolpropane tris(3-mercaptopropionate) (TMPTP) and 1,3,5-triallyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6(1H,3H,5H)-trione (TATT) (with C=C: SH ratio 1:1) in four imidazolium ionic liquids (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide-EMImNTf, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate-EMImOTf, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide-BMImNTf, and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate-BMImOTf) used in the range 50 to 70 wt.%. The mechanical and electrochemical properties of obtained ionogels were examined. Ionogels with ionic liquids (ILs) with NTf anion are more puncture resistant than with OTf anion. Moreover, ionogels with the NTF anion have better electrochemical properties than those with the OTf anion. Although it should be noted that ionogels with the EMIm cation have a higher conductivity than the BMIm. This is connected with intermolecular interactions between polymer matrix and IL related to the polarity of IL described by the Kamlet-Taft parameters. These parameters influence the morphology of the polymer matrix (as shown by the SEM micrograph), which is formed by interconnected polymer spheres.