Synthesis,self-assembly and pH sensitivity of a novel fluorinated triphilic block copolymer

A novel fluorinated triblock copolymer incorporating 2-ethylhexyl methacrylate (EHMA),tert-butyl methacrylate (tBMA) and 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyl acrylate (FA) (PEHMA-b-PtBMA-b-PFA) was first synthesized using three successive reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization and the subsequent hydrolyzing at acidic condition.The as-fabricated triblock copolymer exhibited an interesting morphology evolution from the multi-compartment rod-like structure to spherical structure along with the addition of a selective solution.At the same time,a visible phase separation domain could be seen in the core area due to the existence of fluorocarbon segments.Furthermore,the selfassembly behavior of the triphilic copolymer at different pH was also verified by transmission electron microscopy,as well as the dynamic light scattering.These stimuli-responsive multi-compartment nanostructures may have potential applications in drug delivery.     

Emulsifier-free latex of fluorinated acrylate copolymer

Emulsifier-free latices of fluorinated acrylate copolymers were prepared by semicontinuous polymerization method, with perfluoroalkylethyl methacrylate (Zonyl TM) as a fluoromonomer. Ultrasonic at 40 kHz was adopted to help monomers disperse well in water. The relationships of polymerization conditions between the final conversion and polymerization stability were discussed in detail and the optimal polymerization condition was given. A fluorinated acrylate copolymer was finally obtained and its T_g was 54 °C. The average particle size of the latex was about 601 nm and the particle size distribution of the latex was narrow. The latex film exhibited a low surface free energy and good surface property. By using 6% Zonyl TM, the water contact angle of the film-air interface increased significantly and reached to 110.2°. Compared with the latex film of fluorine-free polyacrylate prepared under the similar polymerization condition, the fluorinated latex film had a better water-resistance and thermal stability.     

Phase behavior and surface tensions of amphiphilic fluorinated random copolymer aqueous solutions

Phase behavior and surface tension of aqueous solutions of fluorinated random copolymers [perfluoroalkylacrylate]–[poly(ethyleneoxide)methacrylate], [C_mRf-acrylate]-[EO_n-methacrylate] with fluroalkyl carbon number m = 8, 6, 4, 2 and number of ethyleneoxide unit, n = 9 and 4.5 were investigated as a function of composition and different combinations of m and n. Isotropic solutions are formed at lower temperatures over wide concentration range of copolymer but at higher temperature phase separation occurs. The cloud point of copolymer decreases with decreasing n as well as m, and also with decreasing the number of poly(ethyleneoxide)methacrylate chain per perfluorinatedalkylacrylate chain, suggesting that the copolymers become more hydrophobic on decreasing m and n. Equilibrium and dynamic surface tension measurements show that copolymers become increasingly surface active as m as well as n decrease but the adsorption at the air–water interface is very slow due to bulkiness of the molecules. No clear evidence of the formation of micellar aggregates could be obtained from surface tension–composition curves.     

Aggregation behavior of star-like PEO-PPO-PEO block copolymer in aqueous solution

The aggregation behavior of a star-like amphiphilic block copolymer (denoted as AP432, which was synthesized via anionic polymerization), in aqueous solutions was investigated by surface tension, steady-state fluorescence, dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). For comparison, a commercially available linear amphiphilic PEO-PPO-PEO block copolymer, Pluronics L64, which has a similar PEO fraction to AP432, was also studied. It is found that the different molecular structure of AP432 and L64 leads to a significant difference on their behavior both at the air/water interface and in bulk aqueous solutions. The results of surface tension measurements indicate that the surface activity of AP432 is much more pronounced than that of L64. The formation of AP432 and L64 aggregates are identified by DLS, fluorescence and TEM measurement.     

Synthesis and characterization of a new fluorinated macroinitiator and its diblock copolymer by AGET ATRP

A new fluorinated macroinitiator of poly 2,2,3,4,4,4-hexafluorobutyl methacrylate-Br (PHFMA-Br) was prepared via activator generated by electron transfer atom transfer radical polymerization (AGET ATRP), and then a series of fluorinated block copolymers with different fluorine content were successfully synthesized from the macroinitiator by the second step AGET ATRP. GPC, FTIR and ¹H NMR data obtained verified the synthesis. Contact angle measurement indicated that proper fluorine content could decrease the surface energy and increase the contact angle of the copolymer films. XPS characterization showed that the large difference in surface energy between the block and random copolymer film resulted from the difference of the fluorine content on the surface, although the fluorine content of the two copolymers in bulk was similar. The self-assembly behavior of the fluorinated block copolymer in selective solvents was evaluated by the TEM study, and the stable micelles with a core-shell structure were observed when the copolymer content was about 1 wt%.     

Effects of altered reaction conditions on the synthesis of polyurethane-poly(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate) triblock copolymer aqueous dispersion

Polyurethane-poly(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate) (PU-PTFEMA) triblock copolymer aqueous dispersions were synthesized by three-step polymerization. In the first step, polyurethane prepolymers (PU) based on 2,4-toluene diisocyanate (TDI), polyether binary alcohol (N₂₂₀), α,α-dimethylol propionic acid (DMPA), hydroxypropyl acrylic acid (HPA), and butanediol (BDO) were prepared with butanediol as the chain extender and methylethylketon as solvent. The next step involved neutralization and dispersion in water, where prepolymers were neutralised by the addition of triethylamine (TEA). The last step was the seeded emulsion polymerization, where PU emulsion was used as seed, kalium persulfate (KPS) as initiator and 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate (TFEMA) as comonomer. Factors influencing the synthesis of PU-PTFEMA copolymer aqueous dispersion were studied. Experimental data indicate that factors influencing the synthesis of PU-PTFEMA copolymer aqueous dispersion mainly involve reaction temperature, reaction time, the concentration of initiator, DMPA content, TFEMA content. Rotational viscometer and dynamic light scattering (DLS) were used to characterize the properties of copolymer aqueous dispersion.     

成膜溶剂与氟化嵌段共聚物膜的表面富集行为

利用接触角、XPS、SFG、AFM等技术研究了环己酮、甲苯和三氟甲苯为成膜溶剂所得聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯-b-聚（甲基丙烯酸-2-全氟辛基乙酯）（PMMA—b—PFMA）嵌段共聚物膜的表面结构与性能．发现浇铸成膜时成膜溶剂对聚合物氟化组分向表面富集程度的影响相对较小,而旋涂成膜时溶剂的影响很大．不管以何种形式成膜,三氟甲苯溶剂最有利于氟化组分向表面富集,甲苯次之,环己酮最差．这一现象与溶剂的挥发速度无关．聚合物在溶液中的聚集结构、气／液界面结构是造成成膜方式对聚合物表面结构与性能产生巨大影响的主要原因．当聚合物在溶液中形成以PFMA为核、PMMA为冠的胶束结构时,在溶液固化过程中氟化组分向表面富集需要较长的时间,这时由于成膜方法直接影响溶液的固化速度,造成其对氟化组分向表面富集的程度影响很大．当聚合物在溶液中以单分子或松散聚集体存在,在溶液固化过程中氟化组分向表面富集的速度很快,这时成膜方法对氟化组分向表面富集的程度影响很小．以上结果无论对理论研究还是应用研究都具有重要意义．     

Synthesis of amphiphilic block copolymer using trimethylene carbonate bearing oligo(ethylene glycol) and investigation of thin film including cilostazol

To prepare a thin film, the block copolymer poly(TMCM-MOE3OM)-b-PTMC was prepared with different segment ratios of hydrophilic moiety. The glass transition temperature of poly(TMCM-MOE3OM)-b-PTMC decreased as the content of TMCM-MOE3OM increased as expected, and it was confirmed that the graft oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG) affected intermolecular interaction. The polymers grafted with OEG showed a thermoresponsive property, which can be expected to be applied to materials triggered by temperature. A thin film was prepared by mixing block copolymer and cilostazol as a drug, and the distribution of cilostazol was observed. It was confirmed that cilostazol was uniformly distributed on the thin film and that local sustained release could be avoided at the time of elution. The eluting behavior of the thin film from the substrate was apparently affected on the segment ratio of the block copolymer. When the thin film was immersed in PBS, the eluting rate increased as the segment ratio of TMCM-MOE3OM in the block copolymer increased. As a result, it is possible to control the eluting rate by changing the ratio of the hydrophilicity and the hydrophobicity of the block copolymer, contributing to the creation of a new coating material containing cilostazol.     

Synthesis and surface characterization of an amphiphilic fluorinated copolymer via emulsifier-free emulsion polymerization of RAFT

The hydrophobic monomer dodecafluoroheptyl methacrylate has been copolymerized with hydrophilic monomer methacrylic acid in aqueous solution without any additional emulsifier used via a two-step polymerization process of RAFT. The FTIR and GPC results indicated that amphiphilic copolymers with a narrow molecular weight distribution and well-defined blocks have been synthesized successfully. And the copolymers are likely to form steady micelles in the emulsion. Indicated by TEM, it is clear that micelles with a diameter of 70-120 nm have been formed. Despite a content of 22 wt% of hydrophilic carboxyl, films formed by casting the emulsion onto the baseplate can be hydrophobic after heating treatment.     

Interaction between star-like block copolymer and sodium oleate in aqueous solutions

The interaction between a star-like block copolymer (AP432) and an anionic surfactant sodium oleate (C₁₇H₃₃COONa) was investigated in detail both at the air/water interface and in bulk aqueous solutions. The results of surface tension show that AP432 and C₁₇H₃₃COONa could form mixed micelles. The results obtained from the oscillating barrier measurements at low dilational frequencies (0.01-0.1 Hz) reveal that the maximum values of the dilational modulus for AP432/C₁₇H₃₃COONa mixed system moved to lower concentrations compared to those of single AP432 or C₁₇H₃₃COONa aqueous solutions. Steady-state fluorescence measurements indicate that after mixing, the I₁/I₃ values of AP432/C₁₇H₃₃COONa system above the cmc are higher than those of single AP432 or C₁₇H₃₃COONa solutions. This is probably due to a looser pack of the molecules within micelles for the AP432/C₁₇H₃₃COONa mixture, which is also consistent with the results obtained from TEM observations. For comparison, the interaction between a commercially available linear PEO-PPO-PEO copolymer (Pluronics L64) and C₁₇H₃₃COONa was also studied. All experimental results give clear evidence that the interaction between L64 and C₁₇H₃₃COONa is different from that between AP432 and C₁₇H₃₃COONa.     

Pegylated thermally responsive block copolymer micelles and nanogels via in situ RAFT aqueous dispersion polymerization

A very straightforward approach was developed to synthesize pegylated thermoresponsive core‐shell nanoparticles in a minimum of steps, directly in water. It is based on RAFT‐controlled radical crosslinking copolymerization of N,N‐diethylacrylamide (DEAAm) and N,N′‐methylene bisacrylamide (MBA) in aqueous dispersion polymerization. Because DEAAm is water‐soluble and poly(N,N‐diethylacrylamide) (PDEAAm) exhibits a lower critical solution temperature at 32 °C, the initial medium was homogeneous, whereas the polymer formed a separate phase at the reaction temperature. The first macroRAFT agent was a surface‐active trithiocarbonate based on a hydrophilic poly(ethylene oxide) block and a hydrophobic dodecyl chain. It was further extented with N,N‐dimethylacrylamide (DMAAm) to target macroRAFT agents with increasing chain length. All macroRAFT agents provided excellent control over the aqueous dispersion homopolymerization of DEAAm. When they were used in the radical crosslinking copolymerization of DEAAm and MBA, the stability and size of the resulting gel particles were found to depend strongly on the chain length of the macroRAFT agent, on the concentrations of both the monomer and the crosslinker, and on the process (one step or two steps). The best‐suited experimental conditions to reach thermosensitive hydrogels with nanometric size and well‐defined surface properties were determined. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 2373–2390, 2009     

聚醚树枝体－聚丙烯酸嵌段共聚物的水溶液自组装行为

应用UV－Vis、荧光、光物理探针、动态激光光散射和透射电镜(TEM)方法研究了聚醚树枝体与聚丙烯酸两亲嵌段共聚物(Dendr,PE-PAA)在水溶液中分子自组装行为。实验结果表明通过聚醚树枝体嵌段的疏水作用,易缔合形成聚集体,具有很低(10^-6～10^-7mol·L^-1)的临界缔合浓度(cac)。透过电镜观察到聚集体具有双层膜结构的球状、单室囊泡。临界缔合浓度(cac)以及聚集体的大小对枝状体的代数(Gi)及线性体的聚合度(n)具有明显的依赖关系。     

Synthesis and characterization of fluorinated polyurethane with fluorine-containing pendent groups

A novel fluorinated polyurethane （FPU） with fluorine-containing pendent groups was prepared by using fluorinated polyether glycol （PTMG-g-HFP） as a soft segment, 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate （HDI） or toluene diisocyanate （TD1） as a hard segment and 1,4-butanodiol （BDO） as a chain extender. FTIR, ^1H NMR, ^13C NMR and GPC were used to characterize the structure of the fluorinated polyurethane. Thermal stabilities of the fluorinated polyurethane and the corresponding hydrogenated polyurethane were studied by TGA. XPS analysis at two different sampling depths for the fluorinated polyurethane was used to investigate the surface compositions of FPU. The results showed the fluorine enrichment on the surface of FPU.     

Studies on microstructure and aqueous solution properties of block copolymer of acrylamide-styrene

Three series of block copolymers of acrylamide (AM) and styrene (St) as hydrophobic comonomer with varied microstructures were prepared in microemulsion medium by changing feed ratio of monomers, ratio of St to surfactant, and amount of initiator, respectively. The effects of microstructure factors of the amphiphilic block copolymers PAM-b-PSt on their aqueous solution properties were investigated by fluorescence probe technique and surface tension measurement in detail. The experimental results show that the aqueous solution properties of PAM-b-PSt are strongly dependent on their microstructure factors, such as the length and content of PSt hydrophobic blocks in the copolymers and their molecular weight. It was found that the main microstructure factors which effect the hydrophobic association behavior of the copolymer PAM-b-PSt are the length and content of PSt hydrophobic blocks in the copolymer, whereas the hydrophobic association behavior of the copolymer is not affected nearly so much by molecular weight in more dilute regions. At the same time, it was also found that the main microstructure factors which affect the surface activity of the copolymer are the content of PSt hydrophobic blocks in the copolymer and molecular weight, whereas the length of PSt blocks in copolymer does not affect surface activity of the copolymer nearly so much under fixed content of PSt hydrophobic blocks and molecular weight in the copolymer.     

Synthesis and surface properties of fluorinated block copolymers containing sulfonic groups

A series of fluorinated block copolymers with different fluorinated block lengths and compositions were synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), and then the block copolymers containing sulfonic groups with various sulfonation levels were successfully prepared further via a sulfonation reaction. These well‐defined block copolymers were characterized by means of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), ¹H‐nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The surface activities of the fluorinated block copolymers containing sulfonic groups in N‐methyl pyrrolidone solution and the surface properties of the films prepared from such a solution were examined, and the experimental results showed that the fluorinated block copolymers exhibited a high surface activity in solution and quite a low solid surface energy of films, even though they contain hydrophilic sulfonic groups. The critical surface tensions of these copolymers were estimated and were comparable to that of polytetrafluoroethylene. Even more interestingly, the surface activities of the block copolymers containing sulfonic groups or sodium sulfonate groups in aqueous solution were also measured. It was found that the surface activity in aqueous solution was weaker than that in N‐methyl pyrrolidone solution and depended on both the length of the fluorinated block and the sulfonation level of the block copolymers. The surface properties of the films prepared from the block copolymers in aqueous solution were tested, and most of these films exhibited a hydrophilic surface property. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 4809–4819, 2004     

多嵌段聚硅氧烷聚脲共聚物及双离子型聚硅氨酯的表面性质的研究

本文利用光电子能谱(ESCA)和表面接触角研究了多嵌段聚硅氧烷聚脲共聚物(PUSE)和双离子型聚硅氨酯(PUSM)的表面性质,发现PUSE和PUSM中的软段聚硅氧烷均在表面富集;提高本体的相分离程度,更有利于软段的表面富集;但在50层内,硬段仍有一定的比例,表面层仍是多相结构。在PUSE中,接触角和凝血时间随聚硅氧烷软段比例增加而增加,在PUSM中,随离子化程度的提高,亲水性提高,接触角变小,凝血时间缩短。     

Surface engineering of styrene/PEGylated‐fluoroalkyl styrene block copolymer thin films

A series of diblock copolymers prepared from styrenic monomers was synthesized using atom transfer radical polymerization. One block was derived from styrene, whereas the second block was prepared from a styrene modified with an amphiphilic PEGylated‐fluoroalkyl side chain. The surface properties of the resulting polymer films were carefully characterized using dynamic contact angle, XPS, and NEXAFS measurements. The polymer morphology was investigated using atomic force microscope and GISAXS studies. The block copolymers possess surfaces dominated by the fluorinated unit in the dry state and a distinct phase separated microstructure in the thin film. The microstructure of these polymers is strongly influenced by the thin film structure in which it is investigated. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 267–284, 2009     

Synthesis and characteristic of double hydrophilic block copolymer with amine pendant chains

Novel double hydrophilic block copolymers with amine pendant chains were synthesized by polymerization of 4-vinyl benzylamine hydrochloric salt using 4,4′-azo-bis[4-cyanopentanoate poly（ethylene glycol） ester] as macroazoinitiator. The structures of the copolymers were characterized by ^1H NMR, FTIR spectra and acid-base titration, GPC-MALS techniques.     

Synthesis of block copolymer containing dextran and polyamide sequences

A novel AB-type block copolymer composed of dextran and polyamide sequences was prepared through the following two approaches. One is a coupling reaction of a terminal functional group introduced in the dextran chain with that in the polyamide chain, such as the reaction of an amine group with an acyllactam group or that of a lactone group with an amine group at the corresponding chain ends. The other is an anionic polymerization of a bicyclic lactam activated with a trimethylsilylated dextran derivative having an acyllactam end group. The latter procedure was found to be more effective for the preparation of the block copolymer having a high molecular weight polyamide sequence.     

Synthesis of the block copolymer of styrene and 1-butene with a novel supported Ti-catalyst

The present investigation deals with sequential block copolymerization of styrene and 1-butene with a novel MgCl₂-supported TiCl₄ catalyst modified with a rare earth compound NdCl_x(OR)_y (SN-1 catalyst), which was developed in our laboratory. The catalytic activities are 1300–2500 g/g·Ti·h. Analyses of copolymers with solvent extraction, ¹³C-NMR, WAXD, GPC, and DSC was performed. The results indicate that the SN-1 catalyst selectively gave crystalline diblock copolymers of isotactic polystyrene and isotactic poly(1-butene), with the styrene unit content of 30–60 mol %. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.