Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
5211264 | Reactive and Functional Polymers | 2007 | 13 Pages |
Bifunctional polystyrene macroinitiators, having various molecular weights, were prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), initiated with bifunctional initiator 1,3-bis{1-methyl-1[(2,2,2-trichloroethoxy) carbonylamino]ethyl}benzene in conjunction with CuCl catalyst and polyamine ligands. These macroinitiators were subsequently used for ATRP of tert-butyl acrylate (t-BuA), giving BAB triblocks poly[(t-BuA)-b-(Sty)-b-(t-BuA)] as precursors of amphiphilic copolymers. Both the polymerization steps proceeded as controlled processes with linear semi-logarithmic conversion plots and lengths of the blocks following theoretical predictions. Hydrolysis of outer poly(t-BuA) blocks led to triblock copolymers with the central polystyrene block and outer blocks of poly(acrylic acid), the molecular weights of which ranged from ca. 5Â ÃÂ 103 to almost 1Â ÃÂ 105Â Da.