On the Role of Metal-Containing Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquid Catalysts in the Formation of Tailored Polystyrene

In this work, we synthesized ionic liquid (IL) catalysts based on 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (BMI·Cl), incorporating various types of metal chlorides (as the anions) and in different molar ratios, for application in the styrene bulk cationic polymerization. The polymerizations proceeded with high reproducibility, and by employing some IL catalysts, high conversions were achieved in short times. The reactivity of these catalysts...