Influence of Poly(methyl methacrylate) Inclusion on Ion Dynamics and Conduction Mechanism of Imidazolium Ionic Liquids

Our previous studies on poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)-grafted nanoparticles in 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide (HMIM-TFSI) showed that polymer-ionic liquid interactions influence the solvation and dynamics of ionic liquid. In this study, we analyzed the dielectric relaxation, activation energy and frequency-dependence of ionic conductivity of PMMA containing imidazolium ionic liquids. We found that interactions between PMMA and TFSI^- anions disturb the cage structure and accelerate the HMIM⁺ cation motion, thus increase the apparent ionicity of HMIM-TFSI. Imidazolium ionic liquids with the addition of PMMA-grafted and poly(1-vinylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide) (PVIm-TFSI)-grafted nanoparticles will be also discussed to reveal the role of percolating structures on the ionicity.