Microphase separation of cationic homopolymers bearing alkyl ammonium salts into sub-4 nm lamellar materials with water intercalation channels

Sujita, Ryota*; Imai, Sahori*; Ouchi, Makoto*; Aoki, Hiroyuki  ; Terashima, Takaya*

Constructing ordered ionic nanostructures into bulk polymers and thin films is an important technique to create functional materials, such as polyelectrolytes and proton- and ion-conducting materials, for various applications. Herein, we report microphase separation of cationic homopolymers bearing alkyl ammonium bromides to create sub-4 nm lamellar materials, where an ionic phase is alternatingly layered with a hydrophobic alkyl phase and serves as a channel for water intercalation. We prepared cationic homopolymers with linear or branched alkyl pendants (octyl or 2-ethylhexyl group: C8-eicosyl or 2-octyldodecyl group: C20) via the free radical polymerization of 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl acrylate (DMAEA), followed by the quaternization of the polyDMAEA with corresponding alkyl bromides. The homopolymers carrying linear hexadecyl, octadecyl, and eicosyl groups were crystalline at room temperature, whereas the others were amorphous. The homopolymers bearing linear alkyl pendants longer than the decyl group or branched alkyl pendants larger than the 2-butyloctyl group formed lamellar structures by the self-assembly of the side chains. The domain spacing can be controlled between 2.5 and 3.7 nm by tuning the pendant structures and are smaller than that formed by the corresponding random copolymers. A cationic homopolymer bearing crystalline octadecyl groups maintained lamellar structures up to 210 C far beyond the melting temperature (50 C). The cationic homopolymer further formed a multilayered lamellar thin film on a silicon substrate, in which the cationic layers absorbed water under humid conditions and reversibly released the water therefrom in a N gas atmosphere.