Reversible hierarchical structure induced by solvation and temperature modulation in an ionic liquid-based random bottlebrush copolymer

A solvent and temperature responsive random copolymer having a polyacrylate backbone with emanating ionic liquid side chains of 1-decyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride and 1-(2-carboxyethyl)-3-imidazolium bromide grafted poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAM) possessing bottlebrush architecture is synthesized. The bottlebrush copolymer is prepared using an uncommon route that exploits the co-assembly of two amphiphilic ionic liquid acryloyl-based monomers in 30% (w/w) water to form a lyotropic mesophase followed by photo-initiated free radical polymerization. The copolymer adopts a temperature-invariant 2D hexagonal structure as determined by SAXS in the dehydrated (de-swollen) state. The absence of thermoresponsivity is attributed to a combination of confinement coupled with insufficient solvation of the grafted PNIPAM chains. In a water-swollen state (hydrogel), loss in long range translational ordering is observed while short range temperature-dependent ordering dominates. Below the LCST of PNIPAM (<40 degrees C), disassociated nanoscale discoidal assemblies predominate, as determined by SAXS. At temperatures above the LCST, the particles condense to form thicker circular discs of similar diameter. Polarized optical microscopy shows the formation of 1-D liquid-crystalline fibrillar structures spanning the meso- to micro-length scales. The assembly and disassembly are fully reversible with temperature cycling. This work demonstrates the possibility of achieving self-organization over multiple length scales (panoscopic) to create complex structures from modular components using an external stimulus to control construction.