Impact of Ionene\nArchitecture on Ion Mobility

We have investigated the nanostructure\nof five ionenes\nbased on\nthree different benzimidazolium- and imidizolium-based backbones as\na function of hydration using atomistic molecular dynamics simulations\nsupplemented with X-ray scattering. All five samples reveal sponge-like\nnanostructures with near-complete percolation, even at low degrees\nof hydration, and no evidence of long-range phase separation. Analysis\nof the structure and ion dynamics shows that, while connectivity is\nhighest among the samples functionalized with methyl alkylating units,\nthe ionic pathways in the imidizolium-based backbones functionalized\nwith butyl alkylating units are less tortuous, leading to faster ion\ndiffusion at low water content.