Ion conduction in crosslinked β-cyclodextrin gels

Gels of crosslinked ß-cyclodextrin have been prepared using dimethylacetamide containing lithium, sodium and potassium triflate salts. Compositions were adjusted to produce materials with dry surfaces that showed no evidence of solvent leakage. Alternating current conductivity (s) measurements of ion transport in these systems were made over the temperature range 290-360 K. Systems containing KCF₃SO₃ exhibited the best range of conductivity values from s=10^-4 S cm^-1 (293 K) to s=1.8×10^-3 S cm^-1 (360 K). These systems also show a linear dependence of log conductivity on 1/temperature, with activation energies for ion transport in the range 32-48 kJ mol^-1.