More Like this

1. The Impact of Composition and Morphology on Ionic Conductivity of Silk/Cellulose Bio-Composites Fabricated from Ionic Liquid and Varying Percentages of Coagulation Agents

   https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21134695  

   Blessing, Bailey ; Trout, Cory ; Morales, Abneris ; Rybacki, Karleena ; Love, Stacy A. ; Lamoureux, Guillaume ; O’Malley, Sean M. ; Hu, Xiao ; Salas-de la Cruz, David ( July 2020 , International Journal of Molecular Sciences)

   null (Ed.)

   Blended biocomposites created from the electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions between polysaccharides and structural proteins exhibit useful and unique properties. However, engineering these biopolymers into applicable forms is challenging due to the coupling of the material’s physicochemical properties to its morphology, and the undertaking that comes with controlling this. In this particular study, numerous properties of the Bombyx mori silk and microcrystalline cellulose biocomposites blended using ionic liquid and regenerated with various coagulation agents were investigated. Specifically, the relationship between the composition of polysaccharide-protein bio-electrolyte membranes and the resulting morphology and ionic conductivity is explored using numerous characterization techniques, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray scattering, atomic force microscopy (AFM) based nanoindentation, and dielectric relaxation spectroscopy (DRS). The results revealed that when silk is the dominating component in the biocomposite, the ionic conductivity is higher, which also correlates with higher β-sheet content. However, when cellulose becomes the dominating component in the biocomposite, this relationship is not observed; instead, cellulose semicrystallinity and mechanical properties dominate the ionic conduction. 

   more » « less
2. Ionic liquids as stationary phases for gas chromatography—Unusual selectivity of ionic liquids with a phosphonium cation and different anions in the flavor, fragrance and essential oil analyses

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2018.11.032  

   Mazzucotelli, Maria ; Bicchi, Carlo ; Marengo, Arianna ; Rubiolo, Patrizia ; Galli, Stefano ; Anderson, Jared L. ; Sgorbini, Barbara ; Cagliero, Cecilia ( January 2019 , Journal of Chromatography A)
3. Ionic interactions control the modulus and mechanical properties of molecular ionic composite electrolytes

   https://doi.org/10.1039/d1tc04119c  

   Bostwick, Joshua E. ; Zanelotti, Curt J. ; Yu, Deyang ; Pietra, Nicholas F. ; Williams, Teague A. ; Madsen, Louis A. ; Colby, Ralph H. ( January 2022 , Journal of Materials Chemistry C)

   Molecular ionic composites (MICs) are a new class of solid electrolytes that combine ionic liquids (ILs) and a rigid-rod double helical polyelectrolyte, poly(2,2′-disulfonyl-4,4′benzidine terephthalamide) (PBDT). In this study, we focus on the mechanical, dielectric, and ion diffusive dynamics of MICs with a fixed PBDT weight percent (10 wt%) and varying IL chemistry and molecular volume ( V m ). All six MICs produce tensile moduli in the range of 50–500 MPa at 30 °C, up to 60× higher than the shear moduli of the same MICs. The high range of moduli and tensile to shear modulus ratio emphasizes that the distribution of PBDT chains and the strong ionic interactions between IL ions and PBDT chains dictate the modulus and the mechanical strength in MICs. Additionally, these MICs exhibit high ionic conductivities ranging from 1–6 mS cm −1 at 30 °C, consistent with the measured diffusion coefficients of the IL ions. The tunability of the extraordinary mechanical properties and high ionic conductivities of MIC electrolytes greatly inspire their use in advanced electrochemical devices. 

   more » « less
4. Interfacial Polarization and Ionic Structure at the Ionic Liquid–Metal Interface Studied by Vibrational Spectroscopy and Molecular Dynamics Simulations

   https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c11232  

   Voegtle, Matthew J. ; Pal, Tanmoy ; Pennathur, Anuj K. ; Menachekanian, Sevan ; Patrow, Joel G. ; Sarkar, Sohini ; Cui, Qiang ; Dawlaty, Jahan M. ( March 2021 , The Journal of Physical Chemistry B)

   null (Ed.)
5. Ionic Polyimides: Hybrid Polymer Architectures and Composites with Ionic Liquids for Advanced Gas Separation Membranes

   https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.7b00462  

   Mittenthal, Max S. ; Flowers, Brian S. ; Bara, Jason E. ; Whitley, John W. ; Spear, Scott K. ; Roveda, J. David ; Wallace, David A. ; Shannon, Matthew S. ; Holler, Rob ; Martens, Rich ; et al ( May 2017 , Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research)

   null (Ed.)