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Synthesis of Ionic Liquid Based Electrolytes, Assembly of Li-ion Batteries, and Measurements of Performance at High Temperature
Published on: December 20, 2016
The pathway and kinetics of hierarchical assembly of ionic oligomers into a lyotropic columnar phase
Weiheng Huang1, Shenghui Wei, Daan Frenkel
1National Synchrotron Radiation Lab, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China. ndhuang@ustc.edu.cn.
Abstract:
Ionic benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxamide (BTA) molecules can self-assemble into hollow cylinders which further arrange into columnar phases in water. In situ investigations suggest a multi-step pathway of supramolecular assembly via formation of dispersed molecular aggregates followed by a less ordered intermediate phase before the equilibrium columnar phase is formed. The pathway and kinetics of the formation of lyotropic LC phases through hierarchical supramolecular assembly are similar to non-classical crystallization, in line with an emerging holistic view on crystallization and self-assembly.
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