Polymerization‐induced self‐assembly of block copolymer through dispersion RAFT polymerization in ionic liquid |
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| Authors: | Heng Zhou Chonggao Liu Chengqiang Gao Yaqing Qu Keyu Shi Wangqing Zhang |
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| Affiliation: | Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of the Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Institute of Polymer Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, China |
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| Abstract: | Polymerization‐induced self‐assembly of block copolymer through dispersion RAFT polymerization has been demonstrated to be a valid method to prepare block copolymer nano‐objects. However, volatile solvents are generally involved in this preparation. Herein, the in situ synthesis of block copolymer nano‐objects of poly(ethylene glycol)‐block‐polystyrene (PEG‐b‐PS) in the ionic liquid of 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (BMIN]PF6]) through the macro‐RAFT agent mediated dispersion polymerization is investigated. It is found that the dispersion RAFT polymerization of styrene in the ionic liquid of BMIN]PF6] runs faster than that in the alcoholic solvent, and the dispersion RAFT polymerization in the ionic liquid affords good control over the molecular weight and the molecular weight distribution of the PEG‐b‐PS diblock copolymer. The morphology of the in situ synthesized PEG‐b‐PS diblock copolymer nano‐objects, e.g., nanospheres and vesicles, in the ionic liquid is dependent on the polymerization degree of the solvophobic block and the concentration of the fed monomer, which is somewhat similar to those in alcoholic solvent. It is anticipated that the dispersion RAFT polymerization in ionic liquid broads a new way to prepare block copolymer nano‐objects. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 1517–1525 |
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| Keywords: | block copolymers ionic liquid nanoparticles reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization self‐assembly |
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