We
investigated the influence of anion type (salicylate, [(MOB)MIm][Sal],
vs chloride, [(MOB)MIm][Cl]) of imidazolium-based ionic liquid (IL)
and its content on the curing kinetics of bisphenol A diglicydyl ether
(DGEBA of molecular weight
M
n
= 340 g/mol).
Further physicochemical properties (i.e., glass transition temperature,
T
g
, and conductivity, σ
dc
) of
produced polymers were investigated. The polymerization of the studied
systems was examined at various molar ratios (1:1, 10:1, and 20:1)
at different reaction temperatures (
T
reaction
= 353–383 K) by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).
Interestingly, both DGEBA/IL compositions studied herein revealed
significantly different reaction kinetics and yielded materials of
completely distinct physical properties. Surprisingly, in contrast
to [(MOB)MIm][Cl], for the low concentration of [(MOB)MIm][Sal] in
the reaction mixture, an additional step in the kinetic curves, likely
due to the combined enhanced initiation activity of anion (salicylate)–cation
(imidazolium-based), was noted. To thoroughly analyze the kinetics
of all studied systems, including the two-step kinetics of DGEBA/[(MOB)MIm][Sal],
we applied a new approach that relies on the combination of the two
phenomenological Avrami equations. Analysis of the determined constant
rates revealed that the reaction occurring in the presence of the
salicylate anion is characterized by higher activation energy with
respect to those with the chloride. Moreover, DGEBA/[(MOB)MIm][Sal]
cured materials have higher
T
g
in comparison
to DGEBA polymerized with [(MOB)MIm][Cl] independent of the IL concentration.
This fact might indicate that, most likely, the products of hardening
are highly cross-linked (high
T
g
) or oligomeric
linear polymers (low
T
g
) in the former
and latter cases, respectively. Such a change in the chemical structure
of the polymer is also reflected in the dc conductivity measured at
the glass transition temperature, which is much higher for DGEBA cured
with [(MOB)MIm][Cl]. Herein, we have clearly demonstrated that the
type of anion has a crucial impact on the polymerization mechanism,
kinetics, and properties of produced materials.