We employ polymer integral equation theory to study a simplified model of semiflexible polymerized ionic liquids (PolyILs) that interact via hard core repulsions and short range screened Coulomb interactions. The multi-scale structure in real and Fourier space of PolyILs (ions chosen to mimic Li, Na, K, Br, PF6, and TFSI) are determined as a function of melt density, Coulomb interaction strength, and ion size. Comparisons with a homopolymer melt, a neutral polymer–solvent-like athermal mixture, and an atomic ionic liquid are carried out to elucidate the distinct manner that ions mediate changes of polymer packing, the role of excluded volume effects, and the influence of chain connectivity, respectively. The effect of Coulomb strength depends in a rich manner on ion size and density, reflecting the interplay of steric packing, ion adsorption, and charge layering. Ion-mediated bridging of monomers is found, which intensifies for larger ions. Intermediate range charge layering correlations are characterized by a many-body screening length that grows with PolyIL density, cooling, and Coulomb strength, in disagreement with Debye–Hückel theory, but in accord with experiments. Qualitative differences in the collective structure, including an ion-size-dependent bifurcation of the polymer structure factor peak and pair correlation function, are predicted. The monomer cage order parameter increases significantly, but its collective ion counterpart decreases, as ions become smaller. Such behaviors allow one to categorize PolyILs into two broad classes of small and large ions. Dynamical implications of the predicted structural results are qualitatively discussed.
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14 August 2024
Research Article|
August 13 2024
Liquid state theory of the structure of model polymerized ionic liquids
Ankita Das
;
Ankita Das
(Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
1
Department of Materials Science, University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign
, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
2
Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign
, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
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Baicheng Mei
;
Baicheng Mei
(Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Validation, Visualization)
1
Department of Materials Science, University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign
, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
2
Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign
, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
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Alexei P. Sokolov
;
Alexei P. Sokolov
(Conceptualization, Writing – review & editing)
3
Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830, USA
4
Department of Chemistry, University of Tennessee
, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA
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Rajeev Kumar
;
Rajeev Kumar
(Data curation, Validation, Writing – review & editing)
5
Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
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Kenneth S. Schweizer
Kenneth S. Schweizer
a)
(Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
1
Department of Materials Science, University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign
, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
2
Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign
, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
6
Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign
, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
7
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign
, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: kschweiz@illinois.edu
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a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: kschweiz@illinois.edu
J. Chem. Phys. 161, 064904 (2024)
Article history
Received:
April 17 2024
Accepted:
July 20 2024
Citation
Ankita Das, Baicheng Mei, Alexei P. Sokolov, Rajeev Kumar, Kenneth S. Schweizer; Liquid state theory of the structure of model polymerized ionic liquids. J. Chem. Phys. 14 August 2024; 161 (6): 064904. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0214334
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