An ideal template for the production of macroporous polystyrene can be prepared from foamed oil‐in‐water emulsions containing styrene, water, glycerol, and sodium dodecylsulfate. After addition of a photoinitiator the mixture is polymerized with UV light and the foam structure of the precursor is transferred to the polymer. The resulting materials display densely packed cells with windows between adjacent pores (see SEM image; scale bar: 250 μm).

A new family of hyperbranched polymeric ionic liquids ("hyperILs") with onion-like topology and facile polarity design were tailored as transporters and compartmentalized systems. Applications include transport and dispersion of water-soluble dyes and functionalized graphene nanosheets from aqueous phase into nonpolar fluids, including polymer melts.

Highly dispersed ZnO nanoparticles with variable particle sizes were successfully prepared within an amphiphilic hyperbranched polyetherpolyol matrix via decomposition of an organometallic precursor in the presence of air leading to stable nanocomposites. The high degree of stabilization during and after the synthesis by the polymer permits control over the nanoparticle size and therefore, due to the quantum-size-effect, the particle properties. Furthermore, these polymer-inorganic nanocomposites can easily be dispersed in apolar solvents to yield highly transparent, stable solutions.

Micelles and micelle-forming amphiphilic polymers play an important role in nature and in everyday life. Today, the bio-inspired development of synthetic polymers with micelle-like molecular architectures goes well beyond the scope of biological micellar systems. Particularly, amphiphilic core–shell polymeric electrolytes, equivalent to unimolecular micelles, are much more robust and less sensitive to shear-, temperature-, and pH-induced disintegration. Among amphiphilic materials, polymeric ionic liquids (PILs) are attracting great attention, since they combine the features of low-molecular-weight ionic liquids (ILs) with the properties and facile processing typical of polymers. Hence, the precise incorporation of IL moieties into macromolecular core–shell and onion-like architectures represents an attractive route to nanostructured PILs exhibiting functions typical for micelles. This chapter highlights the progress made in bio-inspired molecular systems engineering by designing micelle-like PILs comprising dendritic and hyperbranched polymers as cores and IL-moieties with variable alkyl substitution in their periphery. Special focus is placed upon the design of hyperbranched PILs with onion-like topologies, enabling tailoring specific functions. The wide applications of compartmentalized PIL systems span from the synthesis of particles and dispersions to catalysis and smart materials that respond with property changes to external stimuli.

Strukturierte ILs: Eine neue Familie hyperverzweigter polymerer ionischer Flüssigkeiten („HyperILs“) mit zwiebelartiger Topologie und einfachem Polaritätsdesign (siehe Bild) wurden als Transporter und kompartimentierte Systeme maßgeschneidert. Zu den Anwendungen zählen der Transport wasserlöslicher Farbstoffe und funktionalisierter Graphen‐Nanoplättchen aus der wässrigen Phase und die Dispergierung in unpolaren Fluiden einschließlich Kunststoffschmelzen.