Controlled synthesis of sugar-containing poly(ionic liquid)s

Abstract

A facile synthetic route is reported toward sugar-containing pyridinium-based poly(ionic liquid)s (PILs). Reversible deactivation radical polymerization of 4-vinyl pyridine could generate a well-defined poly(4-vinyl pyridine) in a self-generating biphasic system. Subsequent quaternization and anion exchange reaction could yield a library of functional PILs with pendent sugar units and varied anions.