  Charged cyclic polymers, e.g. cyclic DNAs and polypeptides, play enabling
roles in organisms, but their synthesis was challenging due to the well known
polyelectrolyte effect. To tackle the challenge, we developed a templated
method to synthesize a library of imidazolium and pyridinium based cyclic
poly(ionic liquid)s. Cyclic templates, cyclic polyimidazole and
poly(2-pyridine), were synthesized first through ring-closure method by
light-induced Diels-Alder click reaction. Through quaternization of cyclic
templates followed by anion metathesis, the cyclic poly(ionic liquid)s were
synthesized, which paired with varied counter anions.
