An Arm‐First Approach to Cleavable Mikto‐Arm Star Polymers by RAFT Polymerization. Issue 8 (6th February 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wei, Xiaohu; Moad, Graeme; Muir, Benjamin W.; Rizzardo, Ezio; Rosselgong, Julien; Yang, Wantai; Thang, San H.
• Is Part Of: Macromolecular rapid communications. Volume 35:Issue 8(2014:Apr.)
• Page Start: 840
• Page End: 845
• Publication Date: 2014-02-06
• Subjects: Macromolecules -- Periodicals; Polymers -- Periodicals; Chemistry -- Periodicals; 547.705
• DOI: 10.1002/marc.201300879
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1022-1336

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" xml:lang="en"> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <p>Redox‐cleavable mikto‐arm star polymers are prepared by an "arm‐first" approach involving copolymerization of a dimethacrylate mediated by a mixture of macroRAFT agents. Thus, RAFT copolymerization of the monomers BMA, DMAEMA, and OEGMA, with the disulfide dimethacrylate cross‐linker (DSDMA), bis(2‐methacryloyl)oxyethyl disulfide, mediated by a 1:1:1 mixture of three macroRAFT agents with markedly different properties [hydrophilic, poly[oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate]—P(OEGMA)<sub>8–9</sub>; cationizable, poly[2‐(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate]—P(DMAEMA); hydrophobic, poly(<italic>n</italic>‐butyl methacrylate)—P(BMA)] provides low dispersity mikto‐arm star polymers. Good control (<italic>Đ</italic> < 1.3) is observed for the target P(DMAEMA)/P(OEGMA)/P(BMA) (3:3:1) mikto‐arm star, a double hydrophilic P(DMAEMA)/P(OEGMA) (3:3) mikto‐arm star and a hydrophobic P(BMA) homo‐arm star. However, <italic>Đ</italic> for the target mikto‐arm stars increases with an increase in either the ratio [DSDMA]:[total macroRAFT] or the fraction of hydrophobic P(BMA) macroRAFT agent. The quaternized mikto‐arm star in dilute aqueous solution shows a monomodal particle size distribution and an average size of ≈145 nm. <boxed-text content-type="graphic" position="anchor" orientation="portrait"><graphic position="anchor" mimetype="image" xlink:href="ark:/27927/pgg5bxrv3m3" orientation="portrait" xlink:type="simple" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" /></boxed-text></p> </abstract>