Abstract
Zwitterions have attracted increasing attention as a new class of organic salts. They exhibit fascinating properties owing to their unique molecular structures, in which their cation and anion are covalently tethered. Recently, we have reported that the equimolar addition of bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (HTf_2N) into imidazolium based zwitterions leads to the development of novel liquid media transporting proton selectively. For further functionalization of these zwitterions/HTf_2N systems, we have focused on the organization of zwitterions/HTf_2N mixture on a gyroid minimal surface in bicontinuous cubic liquid-crystalline nanostructures. In the present study, we succeeded in developing new zwitterions/HTf_2N systems forming bicontinuous cubic phases and examined their potential applications to proton conductive materials.
