Easy synthesis of poly(ionic liquid) for use as a porous carbon precursor

A novel poly(ionic liquid) which can be used as a carbon precursor was synthesized using a one-pot reaction using 1,2-dimethylimidazole and epichlorohydrin as starting materials. The unique features of this poly(ionic liquid) include: no additional initiator is required; anions can be metathesized to regulate the micropore size of the carbonaceous materials. Carbonaceous materials derived from the poly(ionic liquid) with chloride anions (Cl−) as counter ions have a low surface area of 47 m2/g. However, by replacing Cl− with a bulky bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (TFSI−) anion, the carbonaceous materials produced have a high surface area of 595 m2/g, while replacing Cl− with dicyanoimide (N(CN)2−) anion results in a reduced surface area of 30 m2/g.