Morphology of poly(ethylene oxide) dissolved in a room temperature ionic liquid: a small angle neutron scattering study.
Solutions of deuterated poly(ethylene oxide) (d-PEO) in 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([bmim][BF4]), a prototype room-temperature ionic liquid (RTIL), have been studied at room temperature over a range of polymer concentrations, using small angle neutron scattering (SANS), characterizing the conformation of PEO dissolved in RTILs. [bmim][BF4] behaves as a good solvent for d-PEO, which organizes in this solvent in non entangled random coils. These findings will help in optimizing the designing of microemulsions in these potentially environmentally friendly solvents.
Triolo
Alessandro
A
Istituto per i Processi Chimico-Fisici, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, via La Farina, 237 98123 Messina Italy. triolo@me.cnr.it
Russina
Olga
O
Keiderling
Uwe
U
Kohlbrecher
Joachim
J