Curable Imidazolium Poly(ionic liquid)/Ionic Liquid Coating for Containment and Decontamination of Toxic Industrial Chemical Contacted Substrates

A curable, imidazolium-based room-temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) coating system has been developed for the containment and decontamination of toxic industrial chemical-contacted surfaces. The curing times and mechanical properties of this poly(RTIL)/RTIL platform, which is based on alcohol-isocyanate step-growth polymerization chemistry, can be tuned by modifying the structures of the step-growth monomers, the stoichiometric ratio of linear (diol, A(2)) to cross-linking (triol, A(3)) RTIL monomers used, and the amount of free RTIL in the formulation. When applied to painted steel and rubber test substrates contacted with o-dichlorobenzene (o-DCB) (a polychlorinated biphenyl simulant), a 50:50 (A2:A3) step-growth alcohol-RTIL monomer mixture cross-linked with a stoichiometric amount of a commercial di-isocyanate monomer (B-2) and containing 43 wt % free RTIL in the coating, reduced the o-DCB vapor amount by 9699% compared to the uncoated, o-DCB-contacted control samples. This peelable, flexible, solid coating also removed by sorption up to >99% of the o-DCB liquid applied to the substrates after 24 h of contact.