A Fine Tuning of LCST-type Phase Transition of Poly(ionic liquid)s in Water

This work reports a study of highly temperature-sensitive lower critical solution temperature phase behavior of fully-ionized polyelectrolytes derived from ionic liquids (PILs). We show that important results are obtained by designing a unique preparation process carried out by blending two PILs with different hydrophobicity in aqueous media without copolymerization or precise control of their molecular weight distribution.