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Journal of the Electrochemical Society, Vol.163, No.13, G187-G195, 2016
Ionic Conductivity and Thermal Properties of a Supramolecular Ionogel Made from a Sugar-Based Low Molecular Weight Gelator and a Quaternary Ammonium Salt Electrolyte Solution
Smart, functional, or intelligent materials are no longer just theoretical systems; they now have applications in different fields of everyday life. One example of this class of materials with the potential for use in a wide range of applications is organic ionic gel (OIG) electrolytes, also known as gel electrolytes or ionogels. The functionality of OIGs arises from the thermally reversible solidification of electrolytes or ionic liquids and their superior conductivity properties. The performance of a series of ionogel samples made from a low molecular weight organic gelator (LMWG) and a quaternary ammonium salt electrolyte solution was studied by means of conductometry, thermal analysis, and microscopic observation. The solidification process was based on the sol-gel technique with controlled gelation temperature. The use of thermal scanning conductometry (TSC) allowed for in situ studies of the conductivity properties, reversibility, and reproducibility of the ionogel system in gel-sol-gel-sol phase transition cycles. As a result, the best chemical composition of the recoverable OIG system based on methyl-4,6-O-(p-nitrobenzylidene)-alpha-D-glucopyranoside (1) and tetramethylammonium bromide (TMABr) was determined in terms of its thermal and conductivity properties. (C) 2016 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.