AsianScientist (Nov. 16, 2017) – In a study published in Advanced Materials, scientists in Japan have developed an ionic liquid gel that has superior mechanical strength while retaining its water retention properties and high thermal stability.
Ionic liquids are substances made solely from ions and possess unique properties. For example, they do not evaporate at normal temperatures or pressures and are highly stable at elevated temperatures.
Gels that contain ionic liquid are known as ion gels. With the same properties as ionic liquids, they can potentially be used as electrolytes for rechargeable batteries and as membranes for gas separation. However, the low mechanical strength of typical ion gels limits their practical applications.
In this study, a team of researchers led by Professor Matsuyama Hideto and Assistant Professor Kamio Eiji at Kobe Universty created a double network within ionic liquid, combining a network of inorganic silica particles with a network of organic polymers to produce an ionic liquid gel. This dramatically improved the resilience of the ion gel, which can withstand more than 25 megapascals of compressive strength without breaking.
The strength of the gel originates from the interpenetrating double network. When stress is applied, the brittle silica particle network breaks and dissipates the loaded energy. However, the physical interaction between the silica particles enables the network to self-recover.
Most of the ionic liquid contained in the gel does not vaporize, so it can be stored in a stable condition for a long time. Even exposing the gel to a high temperature in a vacuum does not damage its performance, so it can also be used in high temperature fields.
The researchers suggested that such gels could be used in CO2 separation membranes or as electrolytes for rechargeable batteries. The research team will collaborate with businesses to find practical applications for this gel. They will also analyze the strengthening mechanism in more detail to produce a higher-performance, stronger gels.
The article can be found at: Kamio et al. (2017) Inorganic/Organic Double-Network Gels Containing Ionic Liquids.
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Source: Kobe University; Photo: Pixabay.
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