Facile Synthesis of Poly(Glycidyl Ether)s with Ionic Pendant Groups by Thiol-Ene Reactions.

Poly(glycidyl ether)s having trifluoromethanesulfonylimide or imidazolium pendant groups are synthesized by thiol-ene reactions. The precise synthesis of a precursor polymer, poly(allyl glycidyl ether), and the following click reactions enable the facile preparation of the polyelectrolytes with the controlled length of main and side chains. The low glass transition temperature (<<0 °C) of the polyethers is beneficial to provide a conductivity as high as 10-6 S cm-1 at room temperature, without compositing any additives. The synthetic approach has advantages of clearly comparing the structural effects of the introduced functional groups and facilely preparing the comprehensive types of polymers.