Microwave-Assisted Cationic Ring-Opening Polymerization of 2-Oxazolines:  A Powerful Method for the Synthesis of Amphiphilic Triblock Copolymers

We report on the first successful example of the preparation of triblock copolymers via a cationic ring-opening polymerization procedure. A library of 30 triblock copolymers was prepared from 2-methyl-, 2-ethyl-, 2-nonyl-, and 2-phenyl-2-oxazoline in a single-mode microwave reactor. The polymers exh...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Macromolecules 2006-07, Vol.39 (14), p.4719-4725
Main Authors: Hoogenboom, Richard, Wiesbrock, Frank, Huang, Haiying, Leenen, Mark A. M, Thijs, Hanneke M. L, van Nispen, Sjoerd F. G. M, van der Loop, Michel, Fustin, Charles-André, Jonas, Alain M, Gohy, Jean-François, Schubert, Ulrich S
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:We report on the first successful example of the preparation of triblock copolymers via a cationic ring-opening polymerization procedure. A library of 30 triblock copolymers was prepared from 2-methyl-, 2-ethyl-, 2-nonyl-, and 2-phenyl-2-oxazoline in a single-mode microwave reactor. The polymers exhibited narrow molecular weight distributions and showed only minor deviations from the targeted monomer ratio of 33:33:33. The glass-transition temperature of the triblock copolymers spanned the range from 50 to 100 °C depending on the incorporated monomers. The micellization behavior was investigated for some amphiphilic triblock copoly(2-oxazoline)s containing two hydrophilic and one hydrophobic blocks. The size of the micelles was larger when the hydrophobic block is located at one end of the triblock copoly(2-oxazoline)s, as measured by atomic force microscopy and dynamic light scattering.
ISSN:0024-9297
1520-5835
DOI:10.1021/ma060952a