Ion transport and softening in a polymerized ionic liquid.

Polymerized ionic liquids (PolyILs) are promising materials for various solid state electronic applications such as dye-sensitized solar cells, lithium batteries, actuators, field-effect transistors, light emitting electrochemical cells, and electrochromic devices. However, fundamental understanding of interconnection between ionic transport and mechanical properties in PolyILs is far from complete. In this work, local charge transport and structural changes in films of a PolyIL are studied using an integrated experiment-theory based approach.

Anomalously large isotope effect in the glass transition of water.

We present the discovery of an unusually large isotope effect in the structural relaxation and the glass transition temperature Tg of water. Dielectric relaxation spectroscopy of low-density as well as of vapor-deposited amorphous water reveal Tg differences of 10 ± 2 K between H2O and D2O, sharply contrasting with other hydrogen-bonded liquids for which H/D exchange increases Tg by typically less than 1 K. We show that the large isotope effect and the unusual variation of relaxation times in water at low temperatures can be explained in terms of quantum effects.

Translation-rotation decoupling and nonexponentiality in room temperature ionic liquids.

Using a combination of light scattering techniques and broadband dielectric spectroscopy, we have measured the temperature dependence of structural relaxation time and self diffusion in three imidazolium-based room temperature ionic liquids: [bmim][NTf(2)], [bmim][PF(6)], and [bmim][TFA]. A detailed analysis of the results demonstrates that self diffusion decouples from structural relaxation in these systems as the temperature is decreased toward T(g). The degree to which the dynamics are decoupled, however, is shown to be surprisingly weak when compared to other supercooled liquids of similar fragility.

Decoupling of ionic transport from segmental relaxation in polymer electrolytes.

We present detailed studies of the relationship between ionic conductivity and segmental relaxation in polymer electrolytes. The analysis shows that the ionic conductivity can be decoupled from segmental dynamics and the strength of the decoupling correlates with the fragility but not with the glass transition temperature. These results call for a revision of the current picture of ionic transport in polymer electrolytes.

Decoupling charge transport from the structural dynamics in room temperature ionic liquids.

Light scattering and dielectric spectroscopy measurements were performed on the room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) [C4mim][NTf2] in a broad temperature and frequency range. Ionic conductivity was used to estimate self-diffusion of ions, while light scattering was used to study structural relaxation. We demonstrate that the ionic diffusion decouples from the structural relaxation process as the temperature of the sample decreases toward T(g).