(251r) Improved Photopolymerization Kinetics of Vinyl Monomers in Coordinated Ionic Liquids

In comparison to other methods of radical polymerization, photopolymerization reactions offer multiple advantages including a greater degree of spatial and temporal control.  However, as these processes are often performed in bulk conditions, they are subject to mass transfer limitations that result in relatively poor polymerization kinetics.  To address this problem, multiple types of structured media have been examined as reaction solvents.  In our study, coordinated ionic liquids were synthesized containing the bistriflimide anion and vinyl monomers coordinated to a variety of metal cations (e.g. Na⁺, K⁺, Cs⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Ba²⁺, Zn²⁺, Cu²⁺, La³⁺).  The ionic liquids were photopolymerized under ultraviolet light and the reaction kinetics were monitored using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR).  In addition to examining the polymerization behavior of the ionic liquids, the material properties of the resulting polymer products were characterized using size exclusion chromatography (SEC), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and ¹H NMR spectroscopy.