Synthesis, Chain Flexibility, and Glass-Transition Temperature of Poly (2,2-Diphenylethyl Methacrylate)

Synthesis of poly(stearyl methacrylate-b-3-phenylpropyl methacrylate) nanoparticles in n-octane and associated thermoreversible polymorphism

Poly(stearyl methacrylate) with average degrees of polymerization ranging from 18–30 were prepared by RAFT radical polymerization and then employed as macro-chain transfer agents in RAFT dispersion formulations with 3-phenylpropyl methacrylate as the comonomer.

RAFT dispersion polymerization of 3-phenylpropyl methacrylate with poly[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] macro-CTAs in ethanol and associated thermoreversible polymorphism

The direct synthesis of methacrylic-based soft polymeric nanoparticles via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer dispersion polymerization (RAFTDP) is described. The use of poly[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate]s, of varying average degree of polymerization (X¯n), as the stabilizing blocks for the RAFTDP of 3-phenylpropyl methacrylate (PPMA) in ethanol at 70 °C, at various total solids contents, yielded the full spectrum of self-assembled nanoparticles (spherical and worm aggregates and polymersomes). We also demonstrate that nanoparticle morphology can be tuned simply by controlling temperature. This is especially evident in the case of worm aggregates undergoing a thermoreversible transition to spherical species - a process that is accompanied by a macroscopic degelation-gelation process.

Polymerization-induced self-assembly: ethanolic RAFT dispersion polymerization of 2-phenylethyl methacrylate

Reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) radical dispersion polymerization (RAFTDP) has been employed to polymerize 2-phenylethyl methacrylate (PEMA) using poly[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] (PDMAEMA) macromolecular chain transfer agents (macro-CTAs) of varying average degree of polymerization (X̄_n).