(226ax) Polar Monomer – Salt Complexes: Ionic Liquid-like Polymers through Simple Blending

This study examines the photopolymerization and gas separation behaviors of imidazole monomers in the presence of bulky salts.  We have observed improved monomer conversion compared to photopolymerization of these monomers in the absence of the salt.  Additionally, poly(alkylimidazole)-styrene monomers were mixed with the aforementioned bulky salts to synthesize membranes and evaluated for room-temperature CO₂/N₂, and CO₂/CH₄ separation performance. The membranes were formed via UV-polymerization.  Polymers were analyzed via IR spectroscopy to determine the degrees of polymerization, DSC to determine glass transition temperatures and scanning electron microscopy to observe surface features as well as polymer thickness.  We will discuss the dependence of salt concentration on the magnitude of the improvements and potential mechanisms for this behavior.