CHAPTER 6: Stimuli Responsive Smart Fluids Based on Ionic Liquids and Poly(ionic liquid)s

Owing to their robust and tunable properties compared to molecular compounds, ionic liquids and their high molecular weight counterparts, polymeric ionic liquids, have provided suitable compounds for the development of smart materials with high physical and chemical stability and strongly stimulus-responsive characteristics. By functionalizing ionic liquids themselves or incorporating ionic liquids into traditional materials, many new kinds of stimuli-responsive materials have been developed. In this chapter, we specifically focus on the recent advances in electro-responsive electrorheological smart fluids with ionic liquids and polymeric ionic liquids as either active components or additives. The goal is to highlight the potential of incorporating ionic liquids into traditional electrorheological materials and using polymeric ionic liquids as new electrorheological active materials to overcome the problems of present electrorheological fluids for real applications.