title: Supramolecular Ionic-Liquid Gels with High Ionic Conductivity.
abstract: Supramolecular ionogels were prepared by the gelation of room-temperature ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([BMIm][BF4 ]) with (S,S)-bis(leucinol)oxalamide. Remarkably, the ionic conductivity of solutions and ionogels with low gelator concentrations is higher than that of neat [BMIm][BF4 ]. On the basis of molecular dynamics simulations and quantum mechanical calculations, the origin of this phenomenon is attributed to the higher affinity of gelator molecules towards [BF4 ](-) ions, which reduces the electrostatic attraction between [BMIm](+) and [BF4 ](-) and thus increases their mobility. With increasing gelator concentration, the ionic conductivity decreases due to the formation of a denser gelator matrix, which hinders the pathways for ionic transport. However, even for very dense ionogels, this decrease is less than one order of magnitude relative to neat [BMIm][BF4 ], and thus they can be classified as highly conductive materials with strong potential for application as functional electrolytes.
authors.affiliation: Group for Quantum Organic Chemistry, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička cesta 54, 10000 Zagreb (Croatia).
authors.forename: Aleksandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maršavelski
authors.affiliation: NMRCentre, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička cesta 54, 10000 Zagreb (Croatia).
authors.forename: Vilko
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Smrečki
authors.affiliation: Group for Quantum Organic Chemistry, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička cesta 54, 10000 Zagreb (Croatia).
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vianello
authors.affiliation: Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Trg Nikole Šubića Zrinskog 11, 10000 Zagreb (Croatia).
authors.forename: Mladen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Žinić
authors.affiliation: Glass Laboratory, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička cesta 54, 10000 Zagreb (Croatia).
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moguš-Milanković
authors.affiliation: Glass Laboratory, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička cesta 54, 10000 Zagreb (Croatia). asantic@irb.hr.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Šantić
keywords: conducting materials; density functional calculations; gels; ionic liquids; supramolecular chemistry