1-Methyl-4-R-1,2,4-triazolium (R = -CH₂CH₂OCH₃, -CH₂COOCH₂CH₃)-Based Ionic Liquids as Plasticizers for Solid...

In this paper, a series of energetic ionic liquid plasticizers of 1-methyl-4-methoxyethyl-1,2,4-triazolium chloride (1), 1-methyl-4-methoxyethyl-1,2,4-triazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (1a), 1-methyl-4-methoxyethyl-1,2,4-triazolium nitrate (1b), 1-methyl-4-ethyl acetate-1,2,4-triazolium chloride (2), 1-methyl-4-ethyl acetate-1,2,4-triazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (2a), and 1-methyl-4-ethyl acetate-1,2,4-triazolium nitrate (2b) were synthesized and characterized. The results show that compounds 1a, 1b, 2a, and 2b have lower melting points (T_m, -72.60 to -32.67 °C) and good thermal stability (T_d, 161-348 °C) and are suitable as plasticizers for hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) curing systems. Among these four ionic liquids, ester-functionalized cations can help to improve the tensile strength (2a, 0.943 MPa; 2b, 1.113 MPa) of the cured system, while ether-functionalized cations are more beneficial to improve elongation at break (1a, 522.90%; 1b, 484.45%). Ester-functionalized ionic liquids are more beneficial to reduce the glass transition temperature of HTPB elastomers. The storage modulus of HTPB elastomers containing NO₃^- is higher, while that of HTPB elastomers containing NTf₂^- is lower. The crosslink densities of HTPB/TDI/2a and HTPB/TDI/2b plasticized by ester-functionalized ionic liquids are larger, which are 9369 and 9616 mol/m³, respectively. There are hydrogen bond interactions between the ionic liquid and the HTPB elastomer, and these interactions changed the distribution of the hard and soft segments in the polymer molecules.