New polymeric architectures with (meth)acrylic acid segments

Preparation of end-grafted polymer brushes by nitroxide-mediated free radical polymerization of vaporized vinyl monomers

In this work, we report a gas-phase polymerization approach to create end-grafted vinyl based polymer films on silicon oxide based substrates. The "surface-initiated vapor deposition polymerization" (SI-VDP) of vaporized vinyl monomers, via the nitroxide-mediated free radical polymerization mechanism, was developed to fabricate various homo- and block copolymer brushes from surface-bound initiators, 1-(4'-oxa-2'-phenyl-12'-trimethoxysilyldodecyloxy)-2,2,6,6-tetra-methylpiperidine ("TEMPO"). The resulting polymer thin films were characterized by the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ellipsometry, and contact angle goniometry, respectively, to identify the surface composition, film thickness, surface coverage, and water contact angles. Through the SI-VDP, end-grafted polymer films of polystyrene (PSt), poly(acrylic acid) (PAAc), poly(N-(2-hydroxypropyl) methacrylamide) (PHPMA), and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) with 10-200 nm thicknesses were fabricated. Furthermore, the block copolymer films of PAAc (1st block)-b-PSt (2nd block), PSt (1st block)-b-PAAc (2nd block), and a triblock copolymer film of PAAc (1st)-b-PSt (2nd)-b-PHPMA (3rd), were also fabricated, suggesting the "renewability" of the TEMPO-initiated polymerization in the SI-VDP scheme. It is also noticed that the SI-VDP is more efficient than the conventional solution phase polymerization in producing functional polymer brushes such as PNIPAAm, PAAc, or PAAc-b-PSt end-grafted films. In summary, our studies have shown clear advantages of the SI-VDP setup for the nitroxide-mediated polymerization scheme in controlling synthesis of end-grafted homo- and copolymer thin films.

Triblock terpolymer micelles: a personal outlook

This outlook paper focuses on micelles formed by ABC triblock copolymers (triblock terpolymers) and related systems resulting from mixtures of diblock copolymers. Micelles with different internal structure such as micelles with a heterogeneous core and a homogeneous corona or micelles with a homogeneous core and a mixed corona are presented. More complex nanoobjects such as vesicles and Janus particles are also reviewed. Finally, potential applications of these objects are discussed.

Interactions between Brushlike Polyacrylic Acid Side Chains on a Polyacrylate Backbone in Dioxane-Water

Densely grafted polyacrylic acids (d-PAAs) with overcrowded PAA side chains on the polyacrylate main chains were synthesized and characterized. Acryloyl poly(tert-butyl acrylate) macromonomer [M-P(tert-BA)] was prepared with a definite chain length (n=29) by atom-transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), then homopolymerization was carried out to produce densely grafted P(tert-BA)s with polyacrylate main chains of two different lengths (m=27 and 161). The two d-PAAs were obtained by hydrolyzing d-P(tert-BA)s in the presence of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA). The d-PAAs exhibit intermolecular and intramolecular hydrogen bonding between the carboxylic groups of PAA side chains in dioxane and pyridine; both were investigated using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy. The intermolecular hydrogen bonding was found to be dependent on polymer concentration, temperature, and water content. The intramolecular association between the PAA side chains was found to produce a contraction of the hydrodynamic volume of the d-PAA. Intermolecular hydrogen bonding produces aggregates, as demonstrated by dynamic light scattering (DLS). The clusters were found to shrink as the overall water concentration decreased, and this effect is tentatively explained by considering the gradient in chemical potential of water inside the clusters in comparison with the solvent phase.

Functional and surface-active membranes from poly(vinylidene fluoride)-graft-poly(acrylic acid) prepared via RAFT-mediated graft copolymerization

Poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) with "living" poly (acrylic acid) (PAAc) side chains (PVDF-g-PAAc) was prepared by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT)-mediated graft copolymerization of acrylic acid (AAc) with the ozone-pretreated PVDF. The chemical composition and structure of the copolymers were characterized by elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. The copolymer could be readily cast into pH-sensitive microfiltration (MF) membranes with enriched living PAAc graft chains on the surface (including the pore surfaces) by phase inversion in an aqueous medium. The surface composition of the membranes was determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The morphology of the membranes was characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The pore size distribution of the membranes was found to be much more uniform than that of the corresponding membranes cast from PVDF-g-PAAc prepared by the "conventional" free-radical graft copolymerization process. Most important of all, the MF membranes with surface-tethered PAAc macro chain transfer agents, or the living membrane surfaces, could be further functionalized via surface-initiated block copolymerization with N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAM) to obtain the PVDF-g-PAAc-b-PNIPAAM MF membranes, which exhibited both pH- and temperature-dependent permeability to aqueous media.

Bisfunctionalized Janus Molecules

[reaction: see text] Bisfunctionalized dendritic multiester molecules were synthesized by combined protection-deprotection and divergent-convergent-divergent sequences in high yields leading to dendritic molecules that combine two functionally different surfaces, polar aliphatic arborol and nonpolar gallate ether moieties, resulting in a two-faced Janus molecule.