Printable, Degradable, and Biocompatible Ion Gels from a Renewable ABA Triblock Polyester and a Low Toxicity Ionic Liquid

Boxin Tang; Deborah K Schneiderman; Fazel Zare Bidoky; C Daniel Frisbie; Timothy P Lodge

doi:10.1021/acsmacrolett.7b00582

Printable, Degradable, and Biocompatible Ion Gels from a Renewable ABA Triblock Polyester and a Low Toxicity Ionic Liquid

ACS Macro Lett. 2017 Oct 17;6(10):1083-1088. doi: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.7b00582. Epub 2017 Sep 18.

Authors

Boxin Tang¹, Deborah K Schneiderman², Fazel Zare Bidoky², C Daniel Frisbie², Timothy P Lodge²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and ‡Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States.
² Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States.

PMID: 35650946
DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.7b00582

Abstract

We have designed printable, biocompatible, and degradable ion gels by combining a novel ABA triblock aliphatic polyester, poly(ε-decalactone)-b-poly(dl-lactide)-b-poly(ε-decalactone), and a low toxicity ionic liquid, 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bistrifluoromethanesulfonylimide ([P₁₄][TFSI]). Due to the favorable compatibility between amorphous poly(dl-lactide) and [P₁₄][TFSI] and the insolubility of the poly(ε-decalactone), the triblock polymer forms self-assembled micellar cross-links similar to thermoplastic elastomers, which ensures similar processing conditions and mechanical robustness during the fabrication of printed electrolyte-gated organic transistor devices. Additionally, the ester backbone in the polymer structure enables efficient hydrolytic degradation of these ion gels compared to those made previously using carbon-backbone polymers.