Low‐CTE photosensitive polyimide based on semialicyclic poly(amic acid) and photobase generator

A negative‐type photosensitive polyimide (PSPI) based on semialicyclic poly(amic acid) (PAA), poly(trans‐1,4‐cyclohexylenediphenylene amic acid), and {[(4,5‐dimethoxy‐2‐nitrobenzyl)oxy]carbonyl} 2,6‐dimethylpiperidine (DNCDP) as a photobase generator has been developed as a next‐generation buffer coat material. The semialicyclic PAA was synthesized from 3,3′,4,4′‐biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride and trans‐1,4‐cyclohexyldiamine in the presence of acetic acid, and the PAA polymerization solution was directly used for PSPI formulation. This PSPI, consisting of PAA (80 wt %) and DNCDP (20 wt %), showed high sensitivity of 70 mJ/cm² and high contrast of 10.3, when it was exposed to a 365‐nm line (i‐line), postexposure baked at 190 °C for 5 min, and developed with 2.38 wt % tetramethylammonium hydroxide aqueous solution containing 20 wt % isopropanol at 25 °C. A clear negative image of 6‐μm line and space pattern was printed on a film, which was exposed to 500 mJ/cm² of i‐line by a contact printing mode and fully converted to poly(trans‐1,4‐cyclohexylenebiphenylene imide) pattern upon heating at 250 °C for 1 h. The PSPI film had a low coefficient of thermal expansion of 16 ppm/K compared to typical PIs, such as prepared from 3,3′,4,4′‐biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride and 4,4′‐oxydianiline. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 1317–1323, 2010     

Three‐component negative‐type photosensitive polyimide precursor based on poly(amic acid), a crosslinker,and a photoacid generator

A new negative‐working and alkaline‐developable photosensitive polyimide precursor based on poly(amic acid) (PAA), 4,4′‐methylenebis[2,6‐bis(hydroxymethyl)]phenol (MBHP) as a crosslinker, and a photoacid generator (5‐propylsulfonyloxyimino‐5H‐thiophen‐2‐ylidene)‐2‐(methylphenyl)acetonitrile (PTMA) has been developed. PAA was prepared by ring‐opening polymerization of pyromellitic dianhydride with 4,4′‐oxydianiline. The photosensitive polyimide precursor containing PAA (65 wt %), MBHP (25 wt %), and PTMA (10 wt %) showed a clear negative image featuring 10 μm line and space patterns when it was exposed to 436 nm light at 100 mJ·cm^?2, post‐exposure baked at 130 °C for 3 min, followed by developing with a 2.38 wt % aqueous tetramethylammonium hydroxide solution at 25 °C. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 593–599, 2005     

Novel positive‐working and aqueous‐base‐developable photosensitive poly(imide benzoxazole) precursor

A novel positive‐working and aqueous‐base‐developable photosensitive poly(imide benzoxazole) precursor based on a poly(amic acid hydroxyamide) bearing phenolic hydroxyl groups and carboxylic acid groups, a diazonaphthoquinone (DNQ) photosensitive compound, and a solvent was developed. Poly(amic acid hydroxyamide) was prepared through the polymerization of 2,2‐bis(3‐amino‐4‐hydroxyphenyl)hexafluoropropane, trimellitic anhydride chloride, and 4,4′‐oxydibenzoyl chloride. Subsequently, the thermal cyclization of the poly(amic acid hydroxyamide) precursor at 350 °C produced the corresponding poly(imide benzoxazole). The inherent viscosity of the precursor polymer was 0.17 dL/g. The cyclized poly(imide benzoxazole) showed a high glass‐transition temperature of 372 °C and 5% weight loss temperatures of 535 °C in nitrogen and 509 °C in air. The structures of the precursor polymer and the fully cyclized polymer were characterized with Fourier transform infrared and ¹H NMR. The photosensitive polyimide precursor containing 25 wt % DNQ photoactive compound showed a sensitivity of 256 mJ/cm² and a contrast of 1.14 in a 3‐μm film with a 0.6 wt % tetramethylammonium hydroxide developer. A pattern with a resolution of 5 μm was obtained from this composition. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 5990–5998, 2004     

New concept of positive photosensitive polyimide: Reaction development patterning (RDP)

A soluble multiblock copolyimide without specific functional groups such as OH and COOH was prepared by a direct one‐pot polycondensation of two types of dianhydrides and diamines in the presence of γ‐valerolactone/pyridine catalyst using N‐methylpyrrolidone (NMP)/toluene mixture as a solvent. The polyimide film containing the photosensitive agent diazonaphthoquinone (DNQ) compound gave positive‐tone behavior by UV irradiation, followed by development in a mixture of ethanolamine/NMP/H₂O (1/1/1 by weight). The scanning electron microscopic photograph of the resultant image showed fine patterns with about 20 μm film thickness. Its pattern forming was based on the photorearrangement of diazonaphthoquinone, a process in which the ring‐opening reaction of imide units of the polyimide with the amine used as a developer and the following degradation of the polymer are induced. Such a new imaging technique combines principles of photolithography and etching of a polyimide to give, what we call, reaction development patterning in which the main chemical reactions directly related to the pattern formation occur during development. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 3451–3463, 2001     

Synthesis and micropatterning properties of a novel base‐soluble,positive‐working,photosensitive polyimide having an o‐nitrobenzyl ether group

A novel positive‐working, photosensitive polyimide, poly[1,4‐phenyleneoxy‐1,4‐phenylene‐2,2′‐di(2‐nitrobenzyloxy)benzophenone‐3,3′,4,4′‐tetracarboxdiimide] (OPI‐Nb), developable with an aqueous base was prepared by the o‐nitrobenzylation of a polyimide, poly(1,4‐phenyleneoxy‐1,4‐phenylene‐2,2′‐dihydroxybenzophenone‐3,3′,4,4′‐tetracarboxdiimide) (OPI), derived from 2,2′‐dihydroxy‐3,3′,4,4′‐benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride (DHBA) and 4,4′‐oxydianiline, and it micropatterning properties were investigated. The o‐nitrobenzylation of OPI to OPI‐Nb was conducted with o‐nitrobenzyl bromide in N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidinone containing Et₃N. The DHBA monomer was synthesized by exhaustive KMnO₄ oxidation of bis(2‐dimethoxy‐3,4‐dimethylphenyl)methane obtained by etherification of bis(2‐hydroxy‐3,4‐dimethylphenyl)methane with iodomethane, followed by deprotection of the methoxy groups and cyclodehydration of the obtained 2,2′‐dihydroxy‐3,3′4,4′‐benzophenonetetracarboxylic acid. The intermediate bis(2‐hydroxy‐3,4‐dimethylphenyl)methane was prepared by the condensation of 2,3‐dimethylphenol with paraformaldehyde. The degree of o‐nitrobenzylation was determined to be over 94 mol % from ¹H NMR absorption of benzylic CH₂ protons. The aromatic OPI was perfectly soluble in a dilute aqueous NaOH solution and tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH), whereas OPI‐Nb was not even swellable in them. In the micropatterning process, OPI‐Nb showed a line‐width resolution of 0.4‐μm and a sensitivity of 5.4 J/cm² when its thin films were irradiated with 365‐nm light and developed with a 2.38% aqueous TMAH solution at room temperature for 90 s. The thickness loss of OPI‐Nb films measured after postbaking at 350 °C was in the 8–9% range. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 776–788, 2007     

Synthesis of a highly transparent poly(o‐hydroxyamide) in the i‐line region and its application to photosensitive polymers

A novel poly(σ‐hydroxyamide) (PHA) based photosensitive polymer that exhibits high transparency at 365 nm wavelength (i‐line) has been developed. Time‐dependent density functional theory (TD‐DFT) calculations using the B3LYP hybrid functional were performed to predict the transparencies of various hydroxyamides in the i‐line region. Based on the calculations, 4,4′‐sulfonylbis(σ‐aminophenol) (SAP) was prepared and polymerized with 4,4′‐oxybis(benzoyl chloride) (OBBC), and the resulting PHA, which is abbreviated as PHA‐S, showed a high transparency comparable to that of PHA derived from 4,4′‐(hexafluoroisopropylidene)bis(σ‐aminophenol). Positive‐type photosensitive PHA was then formulated based on PHA‐S with a crosslinker 1,3,5‐tris[(2‐vinyloxy)ethoxy]benzene (TVEB) and a photoacid generator (5‐propylsulfonyloxyimino‐5H‐thiophen‐2‐ylidene)‐2‐(methylphenyl)acetonitrile (PTMA) (17:3:1 in weight ratio), and demonstrated photosensitivity and contrast of 14 mJ/cm² and 2.7, respectively, when the resist film was prebaked at 120 °C for 5 min, irradiated by i‐line, post exposure baked at 120 °C for 5 min, developed with an 2.38 wt% TMAH solution for 5 s. A clear positive image featuring 10‐μm line‐and‐space was also printed in a film which was exposed to 50 mJ/cm² of i‐line by contact‐printing. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 2527–2535, 2005     

A positive-working photosensitive alkaline-developable polyimide with a highly dimensional stability and low dielectric constant based on poly(amic acid) as a polyimide precursor and diazonaphthoquinone as a photosensitive compound

A positive-working photosensitive polyimide precursor based on fluorinated poly(amic acid) (FPAA) and 2,3,4-tris(1-oxo-2-diazonaphthoquinon-4-ylsulfonyloxy)benzophenone (D4SB) as a photosensitive compound has been developed. FPAA was prepared by ring-opening polyaddition of dianhydrides, pyromellitic dianhydride and biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride, with diamine, 2,2′-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzidine, in methanol. The FPAA film showed excellent transparency to UV light and good solubility in a wide range of organic solvents. The dissolution behavior of FPAA containing 30 wt % D4SB after exposure was studied, and it was found that the difference of dissolution rate between exposed and unexposed parts was enough to get high contrast due to the photochemical reaction of D4SB in the polymer film. The photosensitive fluorinated polyimide (FPI) precursor containing 30 wt % D4SB showed a sensitivity of 80 mJ cm⁻² and a contrast of 7.8 with 365 nm light when it was developed with 0.3% aqueous tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide solution at room temperature. The FPI film cured up to 360°C had a low coefficient of thermal expansion of 10.3 ppm °C⁻¹ and a low dielectric constant of 3.04. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J. Polym. Sci. A Polym. Chem. 36: 2261–2267, 1998     

Direct patterning of poly(amic acid) and low‐temperature imidization using a crosslinker,a photoacid generator,and a thermobase generator

A positive‐type photosensitive polyimide (PSPI) based on poly(amic acid) (PAA), a crosslinker 1,1,1‐tris{4‐[2‐(vinyloxy)ethoxy]phenyl}ethane (TVPE), a photoacid generator (PAG) (5‐propylsulfonyloxyimino‐5H‐thiophen‐2‐ylidene)‐2‐(methylphenyl)acetonitrile (PTMA), and a thermobase generator (TBG) t‐butyl 2,6‐dimethylpiperidine‐1‐carboxylate (BDPC) has been developed as a promising material in microelectronics. The PAA was prepared from 3,3′,4,4′‐biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA) and 4,4′‐oxydianiline (ODA) in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). The PSPI, consisting of PAA (69 wt %), TPVE (21 wt %), PTMA (3 wt %), and BDPC (7 wt %), showed high sensitivity of 21 mJ/cm² and a high contrast of 6.8 when it was exposed to a 436‐nm line (g‐line), postbaked at 90 °C for 5 min, and developed with 1.69 wt % TMAHaq. A clear positive image of 8 μm line and space pattern was printed on film, which was exposed to 50 mJ/cm² of g‐line by a contact printing mode and fully converted to the corresponding polyimide (PI) pattern on heating at 200 °C, confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy. Thus, this system will be a good candidate for next generation PSPIs. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 3362–3369, 2009     

Solid‐state amidization and imidization reactions in vapor‐deposited poly(amic acid)

The condensation polymerization of 4,4′‐oxydianiline with pyromellitic dianhydride for the formation of poly(amic acid) and the subsequent imidization for the formation of polyimides were investigated for films prepared with vapor‐deposition polymerization techniques. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermal analysis, and matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry of films at different temperatures indicated that additional solid‐state polymerization occurred before imidization. The experiments revealed that, upon vapor deposition, poly(amic acid) oligomers formed that had a number‐average molecular weight of about 1500 Da. Between 100–130 °C, these chains underwent an additional condensation reaction and formed slightly higher molecular weight oligomers. Calorimetry measurements showed that this reaction was exothermic [enthalpy of reaction (ΔH) ～ ?30 J/g] and had an activation energy of about 120 kJ/mol. The experimental ΔH values were compared with results from ab initio molecular modeling calculations to estimate the number of amide groups formed. At higher temperatures (150–300 °C), the imidization of amide linkages occurred as an endothermic reaction (ΔH ～ +120 J/g) with an activation energy of about 130 kJ/mol. The solid‐state kinetics depended on the reaction conversion as well as the processing conditions used to deposit the films. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 5999–6010, 2004     

Preparation of core‐shell polystyrene‐polyimide particles by dispersion polymerization of styrene using poly(amic acid) as a stabilizer

Dispersion polymerization of styrene (S) and vinylbenzyltrimethylammonium chloride (VBA) was conducted in an ethanol‐water medium using an aromatic poly(amic acid) (PAA) as the stabilizer. When equimolar amounts of VBA and the carboxylic acid of PAA were used, monodisperse particles with high PAA content were obtained quantitatively. The imidization of PAA on the particles proceeded with acetic anhydride and N,N‐dimethylaminopyridine to form core‐shell PS‐polyimide particles.     

Preparation of polymeric nanoparticles composed of cholic acid and poly(ethylene glycol) end‐capped with a sugar moiety

An amphiphilic polymeric conjugate was synthesized from cholic acid and a diamine‐terminated poly(ethylene glycol) containing a galactose moiety (abbreviated as LEC). The LEC conjugate was characterized by FT‐IR and ¹H NMR spectroscopy. Investigations using fluorescent probes suggest that the LEC conjugate may associate in water to form core‐shell type nanoparticles. The critical association concentration (CAC) value of these conjugates was estimated to be 0.05 g/L. The LEC nanoparticles were spherical with diameters of around 10 to 30 nm.     

Preparation and characterization of polyimide/mesoporous silica hybrid nanocomposites based on water-soluble poly(amic acid) ammonium salt

Recently, mesoporous silica was blended with polyimide to develop low dielectric constant (k) materials with improving mechanical and thermal properties of polyimide by utilizing both the nanoporous structure and silica framework. However, even the use of mesoporous silica did not show a significant decrease of k due to the phase segregation in between polyimide and the mesoporous silica materials. In this work, we attempted to prepare polyimide/mesoporous silica hybrid nanocomposites having relatively good phase mixing behavior by utilizing polyimide synthesized from a water soluble poly(amic acid) ammonium salt, which lead to low k up to 2.45. The thermal properties of polyimide were improved by adding mesoporous silicas. For this work, we have fabricated mesoporous silicas through surfactant-templated condensation of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS). Pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA)-4,4′-oxydianiline (ODA) polyimide was prepared from poly(amic acid) ammonium salt, which had been obtained by incorporating triethylamine (TEA) into PMDA-ODA poly(amic acid) in dimethylacetamide (DMAc), followed by thermal imidization.     

A new type of eco‐friendly resist based on nonchemically amplified system

Novel water‐processable photopolymers were designed to be useful as environment‐friendly photolithographic materials. By copolymerization of 2‐(2‐diazo‐3‐oxo‐butyryloxy)ethyl methacrylate (DOBEMA), hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), methacryllic acid (MAA), and sodium 4‐vinylbenzenesulfonate (SVBS), two kinds of polymers, poly(DOBEMA‐co‐HEMA‐co‐SVBS) for negative‐tone resist and poly(DOBEMA‐co‐MAA) for positive‐tone resist, were synthesized and their photolithographic properties were investigated. The single component negative‐tone resist produced 0.8 μm line and space patterns using a mercury‐xenon lamp in a contact printing mode using pure water as casting and developing solvent at a exposure dose of 25 mJ cm^?2. On the other hand, the single component positive‐tone resist produced 0.8 μm line and space patterns at a much higher dose of 150 mJ cm^?2. Thus, the negative resist showed much improved sensitivity when compared with the positive resist and the reported nonchemically amplified resists. This sensitivity is comparable with those of typical chemically amplified resists. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 7534–7542, 2008     

Negative‐type photosensitive poly(phenylene ether) based on poly(2,6‐dimethyl‐1,4‐phenylene ether), a crosslinker,and a photoacid generator

A negative‐type photosensitive poly(phenylene ether) (PSPPE) based on poly(2,6‐dimethyl‐1,4‐phenylene ether) (PPE), a novel crosslinker 4,4′‐methylene‐bis [2,6‐bis(methoxymethyl)phenol] (MBMP) having good compatibility with PPE, and diphenylidonium 9,10‐dimethoxy anthracene‐2‐sulfonate (DIAS) as a photoacid generator (PAG) has been developed. This resist consisting of PPE (73 wt %), MBMP (20 wt %) and DIAS (7 wt %) showed a high sensitivity (D_0.5) of 58 mJ/cm² and a contrast (γ_0.5) of 9.5 when it was exposed to i‐line (365 nm wavelength light), postexposure baked at 145 °C for 10 min, and developed with toluene at 25 °C. A fine negative image featuring 6 μm line‐and‐space pattern was obtained on the film exposed to 300 mJ/cm² of i‐line by a contact‐printed mode. The resulting polymer film cured at 300 °C for 1 h under nitrogen had a low dielectric constant (ε = 2.46) comparable to that of PPE and a higher T_g than that of PPE. In addition, the cured PSPPE film was pretty low water absorption (<0.05%) as same as PPE. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 4949–4958, 2008     

Preparation and applications of novel fluoroalkyl end‐capped oligomers/polyimide/silica nanocomposites

Fluoroalkyl end‐capped acrylic acid, N,N‐dimethylacrylamide, N‐(1,1‐dimethyl‐3‐oxobutyl)acrylamide and vinyltrimethoxysilane oligomers reacted with polyamic acid possessing trimethoxysilyl groups under alkaline conditions to yield the corresponding fluoroalkyl end‐capped oligomers/polyamic acid/silica nanocomposites. These isolated fluorinated composite powders were found to afford nanometer size‐controlled fine particles with a good dispersibility and stability in water and traditional organic solvents. We succeeded in preparing new fluoroalkyl end‐capped oligomers/polyimide/silica nanocomposites by the imidization of fluorinated polyamic acid silica nanocomposites through the stepwise heating at 110 and 270°C under air atmosphere conditions. These fluorinated polyimide/silica nanocomposites thus obtained were applied to the surface modification of glass and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) to exhibit good hydro‐ and oleo‐phobic characteristics imparted by fluoroalkyl groups in the composites on their surface. In addition, the surface morphology of the modified glass treated with these fluorinated nanocomposites were analyzed by using FE‐SEM and DFM. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preparation of hemispherical polyimide particles by inverse emulsion technique from poly(amic acid) ammonium salts

Nonspherical polymer particles have attracted increasing attention recently. In this paper, micron-scale hemispherical polyimide (PI) particles were fabricated using water-soluble poly(amic acid) ammonium salts (PAAS) by a novel inverse emulsion technique. In the process, liquid paraffin was used as a continuous phase, the mixed solution of PAAS and water as a dispersed phase and sorbitan monooleate (Span80) as a surfactant. The research suggested that water as a stabilizing agent played an important role in forming stable emulsion. As the amount of water increased, stability of the emulsion increased gradually and morphology of PI particles transformed from sphere to ellipsoid, and finally to hemisphere. The concentration of PAAS solution and Span80 both affected the shape of particles, which changed from spherical to hemispherical by increasing the PAAS/Span80 concentration. The mechanism of forming hemispherical PI particles was discussed based on interfacial tension and interfacial free energy changes. Via adjusting the composition of the system to change the corresponding interfacial tension, we could get the particles with different morphologies. Furthermore, the change in structure characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy demonstrated that PAAS had been converted to PI after adding the dehydrating agent to the emulsion. And TGA results showed that the obtained PI particles had excellent thermal stability.     

New positive‐type photosensitive polymer based on poly(2,6‐dihydroxy‐1,5‐naphthylene) and diazonaphthoquinone

A positive working photosensitive polymer based on poly(2,6‐dihydroxy‐1,5‐naphthylene) (PDHN) with 1‐(1,1‐bis{4‐[2‐diazo‐1(2H)naphthalene‐5‐sulfonyloxy]phenyl}ethyl)‐4‐(1‐{4‐[2‐diazo‐1(2H)naphthalene‐5‐sulfonyloxy]phenyl}methylethyl) benzene (S‐DNQ) as a photosensitive compound has been developed. PDHN (number‐average molecular weight: 13,000; polydispersity index: 1.9) was prepared by oxidative coupling polymerization of the 2,6‐dihydroxynaphthalene‐benzylamine complex using iron(III) chloride hexahydrate in the solid state. A 10 wt % loss temperature of PDHN was 450 °C in air, and the film of 1 μm thickness showed excellent transparency above 400 nm. The resist system consisting of PDHN and S‐DNQ gave a clear positive pattern when it was exposed to 436 nm of light, followed by development with a 0.50 wt % aqueous tetramethylammonium hydroxide solution at 25 °C. The sensitivity (D) and contrast (γ) were 300 mJ/cm² and 2.1, respectively. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 393–398, 2002     

Preparation of novel,high‐modulus,swollen‐ or jungle‐gym‐type polyimide gels end‐crosslinked with 1,3,5‐tris(4‐aminophenyl)benzene

A novel preparation approach for high‐performance polyimide gels that are swollen or have a jungle‐gym‐type structure is proposed. A new rigid and symmetric trifunctional amine, 1,3,5‐tris(4‐aminophenyl)benzene (TAPB), was synthesized as a crosslinker. Three different kinds of amic acid oligomers derived from pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA), 4,4′‐oxydiphthalic anhydride (ODPA), p‐phenylenediamine (PDA), and 4,4′‐oxydianiline (ODA) were end‐crosslinked with TAPB at a high temperature to make polyimide networks with different structures. Transparent polyimide gels were obtained from the ODPA–ODA/TAPB series with high compression moduli of about 1 MPa at their equilibrium swollen states in N‐methylpyrrolidone. Microscopic phase separation occurred during the gelation–imidization process when polyimide networks were generated from PMDA–PDA/TAPB and PMDA–ODA/TAPB. After these opaque polyimide networks were dried, a jungle‐gym‐like structure was obtained for the PMDA–PDA/TAPB and PMDA–ODA/TAPB series; that is, there was a high void content inside the networks (up to 70%) and little volume shrinkage. These polyimide networks did not expand but absorbed the solvent and showed moduli as high as those of solids. Therefore, using the highly rigid crosslinker TAPB combined with the flexible monomers ODPA and ODA and the rigid monomers PMDA and PDA, we prepared swollen, high‐performance polyimide gels and jungle‐gym‐type polyimide networks, respectively. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 2501–2512, 2002     

Controlled synthesis of carboxylic acid end‐capped poly(heptadecafluorodecyl acrylate) and copolymers with 2‐hydroxyethyl acrylate

1H,1H,2H,2H‐Heptadecafluorodecyl acrylate (AC8) was polymerized by reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer and copolymerized with 2‐hydroxyethyl acrylate with the formation of random and block copolymers, respectively. The kinetics of the (co)polymerization was monitored with ¹H NMR spectroscopy and showed that the homopolymerization and random copolymerization of AC8 were under control. As a result of this control and the use of S‐1‐dodecyl‐S‐(α,α′‐dimethyl‐α″‐acetic acid)trithiocarbonate as a chain‐transfer agent, the copolymer chains were end‐capped by an α‐carboxylic acid group. Moreover, the controlled polymerization of AC8 was confirmed by the successful synthesis of poly(1H,1H,2H,2H‐heptadecafluorodecyl acrylate)‐b‐poly(2‐hydroxyethyl acrylate) diblock copolymers, which were typically amphiphilic compounds. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 1499–1506, 2007