A novel synthetic approach to tune the surface properties of polymeric films : ionic exchange reaction between sulfonated polyarylethersulfones and ionic liquids

Currently, no studies dealing with the role played by Ionic Liquids (I.Ls.) on tailoring surface features of polymer films are available. In this work, I.Ls. influence on the surface of Sulfonated Polyarylethersulfones (SPESs) was investigated. SPESs with different degrees of sulfonation (DS) were synthesized; their surface properties were modulated through an ionic exchange reaction between the K+ cation of SPESs and I.Ls. synthesized changing the length of cation apolar groups. Hydrophobic properties of SPES_I.Ls. films improve with both the increase of DS and the length of I.Ls. alkyl chains due to higher surface roughness, as shown by SEM and AFM.