Network forming liquids create tunable nanostructures for efficient small molecule transport and intermolecular interactions

Network forming liquids, employing either bulky ions and/or hydrogen bonds exhibit structural and dynamic features with spatiotemporal scales about an order of magnitude smaller and faster than those of traditional polymers. When analyzing their molecular structure, most of these liquids exhibit nanoscale heterogeneity beyond the nearest neighbor solvation shell and in some cases, these larger length scale correlations are reminiscent of the lyotropic liquid crystalline mesophases that make up the phase diagram of many polymers. In this talk, we will discuss the link between nanoscale heterogeneity in network liquids and a liquid’s small molecule transport (e.g., CO2) properties. We will highlight recent x-ray scattering, computation and theory work with water lean solvents for CO2 capture and conversion, novel hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents and phosphine-based ionic liquids, in an effort to demonstrate the connection between microstructure and dynamical properties for some of these systems. Such studies can provide critical insights to guide the design and synthesis of composite or chemically functionalized polymers in many applications including separations, nanochemistry, and advanced structural materials.