Polymers and Ionic Liquids: A Successful Wedding

In the last few years, polymer materials scientists have put a lot of effort into the design of poly­mer-based materials, tailored from the nanometer scale via the introduction of block copolymers, ionomers, or inorganic-rich nano-objects in order to introduce functionalities such as mechanical reinforcement, gas barrier properties, fire retardancy, etc. In the last decade, ionic liquids (ILs) have moved from relative obscurity to something that most chemists are now very aware of. At present, the interest in ILs shows a continuous increase and they are being examined as new components within polymer-based materials for a wide range of applications of advanced materials. The unique set of physico-chemical properties of ILs finely tuned from their chemical structure makes them suitable in numerous applications in polymer science. ILs can be investigated as additives in the design of polymer materials, as novel electrolytes in batteries, as structuration agents of polymer matrices, and as processing aids, plasticizers, and surfactants in the preparation of functional polymers.