This book includes manuscripts from well-recognized international research groups that have taken different approaches to using ionic liquids in a variety of polymer applications. The chapters on polymer synthesis cover traditional free radical polymerizations, which have been shown to progress rapidly and yield high molecular weight polymers, and reverse atom transfer polymerizations. The ability to tune molecular weights and synthesize block copolymers has been
attributed to long free radical lifetimes in ionic liquids. Other chapters cover a variety of uses for ionic liquids in polymer processing, designing specific material properties, and creating novel composites, such as ion gels and ionic liquid-carbon nanotube constructs. This book represents a new and
exciting field in polymer chemistry and physics, and is growing rapidly as more fundamental knowledge of ionic liquids is uncovered.