Nanostructured ion‐conductive films: Layered assembly of a side‐chain liquid‐crystalline polymer with an imidazolium ionic moiety

Abstract

Abstract An ion‐conductive mesogenic monomer with an imidazolium ionic moiety has been designed to obtain self‐assembled materials forming ionic layers. Self‐standing polymer films are prepared by in situ photopolymerization of the monomer that forms homeotropic monodomain on a normal glass substrate in the smectic A phase. Macroscopically oriented, layered nanostructures are formed in the film. The ionic conductivity parallel to the smectic layer has been measured for the oriented film. In the smectic A phase at 150 °C, the magnitude of conductivity is about 10 −2 S cm −1 . © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 3486–3492, 2003