title: Nanostructured proton conductors formed via in situ polymerization of ionic liquid crystals.
abstract: Ionic liquid crystals (ILCs) with hexagonal and lamellar phases were successfully fabricated by the self-assembly of a polymerizable amphiphilic zwitterion, which is formed by 3-(1-vinyl-3-imidazolio)propanesulfonate (VIPS) and 4-dodecyl benzenesulfonic acid (DBSA) based on intermolecular electrostatic interactions. The microstructures and phase behaviors of ILCs were studied by polarized microscope (POM) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The ILC topological structures can be considered as proton pathways and further fixed by photopolymerization to prepare nanostructured proton-conductive films. The introduction of highly ordered and well-defined ILC structures into these polymeric films radically improves the ionic conductivities.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface Chemistry, Shandong University, Ministry of Education , Jinan 250100, China.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Xinpei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Panpan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Shuting
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Liqiang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zheng
keywords: ionic liquid crystals; photopolymerization; proton-conductors; self-assembly; zwitterions