The study of structure formation in a polymer-containing ionic liquid in terms of the integral equation theory

The structural properties of a polymer-containing ionic liquid under the conditions of good solubility of a flexible polymer are studied theoretically. Two systems are discussed: In one, polymer solubility is due to the presence of specific interaction between polymer chains and solvent cations; in the other, polymer solubility is due to the presence of specific interactions between the polymer and solvent anions. The dependences of the structural characteristics of a solution on the polymer concentration and the energy of attraction between polymer chains and solvent ions are calculated. In a semidilute polymer solution, long-range correlations of polymer chains with a power dependence of the characteristic scale of ordering on the polymer density appear. The conditions under which, along with the intermediate ordering typical of a pure ionic liquid, the long-range ordering of the solvent cations and anions occur after addition of a polymer to the ionic liquid are studied.