Salt‐Induced Micellization of Pluronic F88 in Water

The effect of potassium chloride on the micellization of a poly(ethylene oxide)‐poly(propylene oxide)‐poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO‐PPO‐PEO) triblock copolymer (Pluronic F88: EO₁₀₃PO₃₉EO₁₀₃.) in water was studied by fluorescence, FTIR, ¹H NMR, dynamic light scattering, and dye solubilization. The critical micellization temperature (CMT) values of the copolymer decreased with an increase of KCl concentration while micellar core gets progressively dehydrated. The results reveal the leading role of salt‐water interaction in promoting the micellization of PEO‐PPO‐PEO copolymer by the addition of salt. No significant micellar growth was seen even at temperatures close to cloud point.     

Synthesis of a water‐soluble diblock copolymer of polysulfonic diphenyl aniline and poly(ethylene oxide)

We report the synthesis of a water‐soluble diblock copolymer composed of polysulfonic diphenyl aniline (PSDA) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), which was prepared by reacting an amine‐terminated PSDA and tosylate PEO (PEO‐Tos). First, a HCl‐mediated polymerization of sulfonic diphenyl aniline monomer with the formation of HCl‐doped PSDA was carried out. After its neutralization and reduction, a secondary amine‐functionalized PSDA was obtained. Second, PEO‐Tos was synthesized via the tosylation of the monohydroxyl PEO methyl ether with tosylol chloride. Diblock copolymers with various PEO segment lengths (PSDA‐b‐PEO‐350 and PSDA‐b‐PEO‐2000) were obtained with PEO‐350 [number‐average molecular weight (M_n) = 350] and PEO‐2000 (M_n = 2000). The prepolymers and diblock copolymers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, NMR, mass spectrometry, and ultraviolet–visible light. They had relatively low conductivities, ranging from 10^?6 to 10^?3 S/cm, because of the withdrawing effect of the sulfonic group as well as the steric effects of the bulky aromatic substitutuents at the N sites of the polyaniline backbone and of the PEO block. These polymers were self‐doped, and an intermolecular self‐doping was suggested. The external doping was, however, more effective. The self‐doping induced aggregation in water among the PSDA backbones, which was also stimulated by the presence of hydrophilic PEO blocks. Furthermore, the electrical conductivities of the diblock copolymers were strongly temperature‐dependent. PSDA‐b‐PEO‐2000 exhibited about one order of magnitude increase in conductivity upon heating from 32 to 57 °C. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 2179–2191, 2004     

Facile synthesis of core‐surface crosslinked nanoparticles by interblock RAFT polymerization

A new, efficient method for synthesizing stable nanoparticles with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) functionalities on the core surface, in which the micellization and crosslinking reactions occur in one pot, has been developed. First, amphiphilic PEO‐b‐PS copolymers were synthesized by reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) radical polymerization of styrene using (PEO)‐based trithiocarbonate as a macro‐RAFT agent. The low molecular weight PEO‐b‐PS copolymer was dissolved in isopropyl alcohol where the block copolymer self‐assembled as core‐shell micelles, and then the core‐shell interface crosslink was performed using divinylbenzene as a crosslinking agent and 2,2′‐azobisisobutyronitrile as an initiator. The design of the amphiphilic RAFT agent is critical for the successful preparation of core‐shell interface crosslinked micellar nanoparticles, because of RAFT functional groups interconnect PEO and polystyrene blocks. The PEO functionality of the nanoparticles surface was confirmed by ¹H NMR and FTIR. The size and morphology of the nanoparticles was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and dynamic laser light scattering analysis. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2010     

Synthesis and characterization of crystalline graft polymer poly(ethylene oxide)‐g‐poly(ɛ‐caprolactone)2 with modulated grafting sites

The graft polymer poly(ethylene oxide)‐g‐poly(?‐caprolactone)₂ (PEO‐g‐PCL₂) with modulated grafting sites was synthesized by the combination of ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) mechanism, efficient Williamson reaction, with thiol–ene addition reaction. First, the precursor of PEO‐Allyl‐PEO with two terminal hydroxyl groups and one middle allyl group was prepared by ROP of EO monomers. Then, the macroinitiator [PEO‐(OH)₂‐PEO]_s was synthesized by sequential Williamson reaction between terminal hydroxyl groups and thiol–ene addition reaction on pendant allyl groups. Finally, the graft polymer PEO‐g‐PCL₂ was obtained by ROP of ?‐CL monomers using [PEO‐(OH)₂‐PEO]_s as macroinitiator. The target graft polymer and all intermediates were well characterized by the measurements of gel permeation chromatography, ¹H NMR, and thermal gravimetric analysis. The crystallization behavior was investigated by the measurements of differential scanning calorimetry, wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction and polarized optical microscope. The results showed that when the PCL content of side chains reached 59.2%, the crystalline structure had been dominated by PCL part and the crystalline structure formed by PEO part can be almost neglected. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 2239–2247     

Synthesis and photophysical characterization of amphiphilic dendritic–linear–dendritic block copolymers

Amphiphilic dendritic–linear–dendritic triblock copolymers based on hydrophilic linear poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and hydrophobic dendritic carbosilane were synthesized with a divergent approach at the allyl end groups of diallyl‐terminated PEO. Their micellar characteristics in an aqueous phase were investigated with dynamic light scattering, fluorescence techniques, and transmission electron microscopy. The block copolymer with the dendritic moiety of a third generation could not be dispersed in water. The block copolymers with the first (PEO–D ‐Si‐1G) and second (PEO–D ‐Si‐2G) generations of dendritic carbosilane blocks formed micelles in an aqueous phase. The critical micelle concentrations of PEO–D ‐Si‐1G and PEO–D ‐Si‐2G, determined by a fluorescence technique, were 27 and 16 mg/L, respectively. The mean diameters of the micelles of PEO–D ‐Si‐1G and PEO–D ‐Si‐2G, measured by dynamic light scattering, were 170 and 190 nm, respectively, which suggests that the micelles had a multicore‐type structure. The partition equilibrium constants of pyrene in the micellar solution increased with the increasing size of the dendritic block (e.g., 7.68 × 10⁴ for PEO–D ‐Si‐1G and 9.57 × 10⁴ for PEO–D ‐Si‐2G). The steady‐state fluorescence anisotropy values (r) of 1,6‐diphenyl‐1,3,5‐hexatriene were 0.06 for PEO–D ‐Si‐1G and 0.09 for PEO–D ‐Si‐2G. The r values were lower than those of the linear polymeric amphiphiles, suggesting that the microviscosity of the dendritic micellar core was lower than that of the linear polymeric analogues. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 39: 918–926, 2001     

Conductivity enhancement mechanism of the poly(ethylene oxide)/modified‐clay/LiClO4 systems

This study demonstrates that adding clay that was organically modified by dimethyldioctadecylammonium chloride (DDAC) and d2000 surfactants increases the ionic conductivity of polymeric electrolyte. A.C. impedance, differential scanning calorimetric (DSC), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) studies revealed that the silicate layers strongly interact with the dopant salt lithium perchlorate (LiClO₄) within a poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)/clay/LiClO₄ system. DSC characterization verified that the addition of a small amount of the organic clay reduces the glass‐transition temperature of PEO as a result of the interaction between the negative charge in the clay and the lithium cation. Additionally, the strength of such a specific interaction depends on the extent of PEO intercalation. With respect to the interaction between the silicate layer and the lithium cation, three types of complexes are assumed. In complex I, lithium cation is distributed within the PEO phase. In complex II, lithium cation resides in an PEO/exfoliated‐clay environment. In complex III, the lithium cation is located in PEO/agglomerated‐clay domains. More clay favors complex III over complexes II and I, reducing the interaction between the silicate layers and the lithium cations because of strong self‐aggregation among the silicate layers. Notably, the (PEO)₈LiClO₄/DDAC‐modified clay (DDAC‐mClay) composition can form a nanocomposite electrolyte with high ionic conductivity (8 × 10^?5 S/cm) at room temperature. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 40: 1342–1353, 2002     

Synthesis of four‐armed poly(ε‐caprolactone)‐block‐poly(ethylene oxide) by diethylzinc catalyst

Biodegradable, amphiphilic, four‐armed poly(?‐caprolactone)‐block‐poly(ethylene oxide) (PCL‐b‐PEO) copolymers were synthesized by ring‐opening polymerization of ethylene oxide in the presence of four‐armed poly(?‐caprolactone) (PCL) with terminal OH groups with diethylzinc (ZnEt₂) as a catalyst. The chemical structure of PCL‐b‐PEO copolymer was confirmed by ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR. The hydroxyl end groups of the four‐armed PCL were successfully substituted by PEO blocks in the copolymer. The monomodal profile of molecular weight distribution by gel permeation chromatography provided further evidence for the four‐armed architecture of the copolymer. Physicochemical properties of the four‐armed block copolymers differed from their starting four‐armed PCL precursor. The melting points were between those of PCL precursor and linear poly(ethylene glycol). The length of the outer PEO blocks exhibited an obvious effect on the crystallizability of the block copolymer. The degree of swelling of the four‐armed block copolymer increased with PEO length and PEO content. The micelle formation of the four‐armed block copolymer was examined by a fluorescent probe technique, and the existence of the critical micelle concentration (cmc) confirmed the amphiphilic nature of the resulting copolymer. The cmc value increased with increasing PEO length. The absolute cmc values were higher than those for linear amphiphilic block copolymers. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 950–959, 2004     

Synthesis and characterization of well‐defined diblock and triblock copolymers of poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) and poly(ethylene oxide)

Well‐defined diblock and triblock copolymers composed of poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) were successfully synthesized through the reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer polymerization of N‐isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) with PEO capped with one or two dithiobenzoyl groups as a macrotransfer agent. ¹H NMR, Fourier transform infrared, and gel permeation chromatography instruments were used to characterize the block copolymers obtained. The results showed that the diblock and triblock copolymers had well‐defined structures and narrow molecular weight distributions (weight‐average molecular weight/number‐average molecular weight < 1.2), and the molecular weight of the PNIPAM block in the diblock and triblock copolymers could be controlled by the initial molar ratio of NIPAM to dithiobenzoate‐terminated PEO and the NIPAM conversion. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 4873–4881, 2004     

Synthesis and characterization of well‐defined ABC 3‐Miktoarm star‐shaped terpolymers based on poly(styrene), poly(ethylene oxide), and poly(ϵ‐caprolactone) by combination of the “living” anionic polymerization with the ring‐opening polymerization

A series of well‐defined ABC 3‐Miktoarm star‐shaped terpolymers [Poly(styrene)‐Poly(ethylene oxide)‐Poly(ε‐caprolactone)](PS‐PEO‐PCL) with different molecular weight was synthesized by combination of the “living” anionic polymerization with the ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) using macro‐initiator strategy. Firstly, the “living” poly(styryl)lithium (PS^?Li⁺) species were capped by 1‐ethoxyethyl glycidyl ether(EEGE) quantitatively and the PS‐EEGE with an active and an ethoxyethyl‐protected hydroxyl group at the same end was obtained. Then, using PS‐EEGE and diphenylmethylpotassium (DPMK) as coinitiator, the diblock copolymers of (PS‐b‐PEO)_p with the ethoxyethyl‐protected hydroxyl group at the junction point were achieved by the ROP of EO and the subsequent termination with bromoethane. The diblock copolymers of (PS‐b‐PEO)_d with the active hydroxyl group at the junction point were recovered via the cleavage of ethoxyethyl group on (PS‐b‐PEO)_p by acidolysis and saponification successively. Finally, the copolymers (PS‐b‐PEO)_d served as the macro‐initiator for ROP of ε‐CL in the presence of tin(II)‐bis(2‐ethylhexanoate)(Sn(Oct)₂) and the star(PS‐PEO‐PCL) terpolymers were obtained. The target terpolymers and the intermediates were well characterized by ¹H‐NMR, MALDI‐TOF MS, FTIR, and SEC. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 1136–1150, 2008     

Block copolymers of poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(vinyl alcohol) synthesized by the RAFT methodology

A methodology for the synthesis of well‐defined poly(ethylene oxide)‐block‐poly(vinyl alcohol) (PEO‐b‐PVA) and PVA‐b‐PEO‐b‐PVA polymers was reported. Novel xanthate end‐functionalized PEOs were synthesized by a series of end‐group transformations. They were then used to mediate the reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer polymerization of vinyl acetate to obtain well‐defined poly(ethylene oxide)‐b‐poly(vinyl acetate) (PEO‐b‐PVAc) and PVAc‐b‐PEO‐b‐PVAc. When these block copolymers were directly hydrolyzed in methanol solution of sodium hydroxide, polymers with brown color were obtained, which was due to the formation of conjugated unsaturated aldehyde structures. To circumvent these side reactions, the xanthate groups were removed by adding a primary amine before hydrolysis and the products thus obtained were white powders. The polymers were characterized by gel permeation chromatography, ¹H NMR spectroscopy and FT‐IR. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 1901–1910, 2009     

Lithium Ion Pathway within Li7La3Zr2O12‐Polyethylene Oxide Composite Electrolytes

Polymer–ceramic composite electrolytes are emerging as a promising solution to deliver high ionic conductivity, optimal mechanical properties, and good safety for developing high‐performance all‐solid‐state rechargeable batteries. Composite electrolytes have been prepared with cubic‐phase Li₇La₃Zr₂O₁₂ (LLZO) garnet and polyethylene oxide (PEO) and employed in symmetric lithium battery cells. By combining selective isotope labeling and high‐resolution solid‐state Li NMR, we are able to track Li ion pathways within LLZO‐PEO composite electrolytes by monitoring the replacement of ⁷Li in the composite electrolyte by ⁶Li from the ⁶Li metal electrodes during battery cycling. We have provided the first experimental evidence to show that Li ions favor the pathway through the LLZO ceramic phase instead of the PEO‐LLZO interface or PEO. This approach can be widely applied to study ion pathways in ionic conductors and to provide useful insights for developing composite materials for energy storage and harvesting.     

Comparison of Li+‐ion conductivity in linear and crosslinked poly(ethylene oxide)

Polymer electrolytes are of tremendous importance for applications in modern lithium‐ion (Li⁺‐ion) batteries due to their satisfactory ion conductivity, low toxicity, reduced flammability, as well as good mechanical and thermal stability. In this study, the Li⁺‐ion conductivity of well‐defined poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) networks synthesized via copper(I)‐catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition is investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy after addition of different lithium salts. The ion conductivity of the network electrolytes increases with increasing molar mass of the PEO chains between the junction points which is completely opposite to the behavior of their respective uncrosslinked linear precursors. Obviously, this effect is directly related to the segmental mobility of the PEO chains. Furthermore, the ion conductivity of the network electrolytes under investigation increases also with increasing size of the anion of the added lithium salt due to a weaker anti‐plasticizing effect of the more bulky anions. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019 , 57, 21–28     

Salt‐induced microphase separation of amorphous dendritic poly(ethylene oxide)‐block‐linear polystyrene copolymers

We prepared two block copolymers 1 and 2 consisting of a third‐generation dendron with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) peripheries and a linear polystyrene (PS) coil. The PS molecular weights were 2000 g/mol and 8000 g/mol for 1 and 2 , respectively. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) data indicated that neither of the block copolymers showed glass transition, implying that there was no microphase separation between the PEO and PS blocks. However, upon doping the block copolymers with lithium triflate (lithium concentration per ethylene oxide unit = 0.2), two distinct glass transitions were seen, corresponding to the salt‐doped PEO and PS blocks, respectively. The morphological analysis using small angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) demonstrated that a hexagonal columnar morphology was induced in salt‐doped sample 1‐Li⁺ , whereas the other sample ( 2‐Li⁺ ) with a longer PS coil revealed a lamellar structure. In particular, in the SAXS data of 2‐Li⁺ , an abrupt reduction in the lamellar thickness was observed near the PS glass transition temperature (T_g), in contrast to the SAXS data for 1‐Li⁺ . This reduction implies that there is a lateral expansion of the molecular section in the lamellar structure, which can be interpreted by the conformational energy stabilization of the long PS coil above T_g. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 2372–2376, 2010     

Synthesis of telechelics and block copolymers via “living” radical polymerization

Hydroxy‐telechelic poly(methyl methacrylate)s of molecular weights below 5000 were obtained by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of methyl methacrylate followed by end‐capping with allyl alcohol via atom transfer radical addition (ATRA). As initiators for the ATRP, monofunctional initiators with an additional hydroxy group in the molecule or bifunctional initiators were employed. The successful synthesis of the hydroxy‐telechelic PMMA was proved by determination of their molecular weight using MALDI‐TOF‐MS. The efficiency of the end‐capping reaction was determined by ¹H NMR spectroscopy using the allyl N‐(4‐tolyl)carbamate as end‐capping agent. Block copolymers comprising a poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) block and a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) block were prepared by ATRP using a macroinitiator on the PEO basis. The dormant species of the macroinitiator consists of the phenyl chloroacetate moiety which shows a high rate of initiation. The successful synthesis of the poly(ethylene oxide)‐block‐poly(methyl methacrylate) was proved by ¹H NMR spectroscopy; the ratios of EO/MMA repeating units in the feed and the copolymer were nearly equal.     

Highly soluble conducting poly(ethylene oxide) grafted at two sites of poly(o‐aminobenzyl alcohol)

Poly(o‐aminobenzyl alcohol) (POABA) was grafted with poly(ethylene oxide)s (PEOs) through the reaction of tosylated PEO with both the hydroxide and amine moieties of reduced POABA. Reduced POABA was prepared through the acid‐mediated polymerization of o‐aminobenzyl alcohol, followed by neutralization with an aqueous ammonium hydroxide solution and reduction with hydrazine. The grafted copolymers were very soluble in common polar solvents, such as chloroform, tetrahydrofuran, and dimethylformamide, and the copolymers with longer PEO side chains (number‐average molecular weight > 164) were even water‐soluble. The conductivities of the doped grafted copolymers decreased with increasing PEO side‐chain length because of the nonconducting PEO and its torsional effect on the POABA backbone. The conductivity of highly water‐soluble POABA‐g‐PEO‐350 was 0.689 × 10^?3 S/cm, that is, in the semiconducting range. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 4756–4764, 2004     

Crystallization behavior and toughening mechanism of poly(ethylene oxide) in polyoxymethylene/poly(ethylene oxide) crystalline/crystalline blends

In this study, the unique crystallization behavior of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) in polyoxymethylene (POM)/PEO crystalline/crystalline blends was examined in detail. This study was the first to report the typical fractionated crystallization of PEO in POM/PEO blends when PEO is fewer than 30 wt.%. The delayed crystallization temperature of PEO was confirmed at about 5°C to 14°C by using differential scanning calorimetry and perturbation–correlation moving‐window 2D correlation IR spectroscopy. Wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction indicates that no new crystal structures or co‐crystals were generated in POM/PEO. The statistical calculations of scanning electron microscopy photos show that the average diameter of PEO particles is 0.227 µm to 1.235 µm and that the number of small particles is as many as 10⁹ magnitudes per cm³. Theory analysis establishes that the delayed crystallization of PEO is a heterogeneous nucleation process and not a homogeneous nucleation process. A significant toughening effect of PEO to POM was also observed. The impact strength of POM/PEO acquires a maximum of 10.5 kJ/m² when PEO content is 5%. The impact strength of the blend increases by 78.0% compared with pure POM. To improve the toughening effect, the best particle size is established between 0.352 and 0.718 µm, with a PEO particle spacing of 0.351 µm to 0.323 µm. The number of corresponding particles was 0.887 × 10⁹ per cm3 to 3.240 × 10⁹ per cm³. A PEO toughening model for POM was proposed to provide a new and effective way to solve the problem of POM toughening. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preparation of Star‐Shaped ABC Copolymers of Polystyrene‐Poly(ethylene oxide)‐Polyglycidol Using Ethoxyethyl Glycidyl Ether as the Cap Molecule

The 3‐miktoarm star‐shaped ABC copolymers of polystyrene–poly(ethylene oxide)–poly(ethoxyethyl glycidyl ether) (PS‐PEO‐PEEGE) and polystyrene–poly(ethylene oxide)–polyglycidol (PS‐PEO‐PG) with low polydispersity indices (PDI ≤ 1.12) and controlled molecular weight were synthesized by a combination of anionic polymerization with ring‐opening polymerization. The polystyryl lithium (PS⁻Li⁺) was capped by EEGE firstly to form the functionalized polystyrene (PS_A) with both an active ω‐hydroxyl group and an ω′‐ethoxyethyl‐protected hydroxyl group, and then the PS‐b‐PEO block copolymers, star(PS‐PEO‐PEEGE) and star(PS‐PEO‐PG) copolymers were obtained by the ring‐opening polymerization of EO and EEGE respectively via the variation of the functional end group, and then the hydrolysis of the ethoxyethyl group on the PEEGE arm. The obtained star copolymers and intermediates were characterized by ¹H NMR spectroscopy and SEC.

     

Synthesis and characterization of poly(ethylene oxide)/polylactide/poly(ethylene oxide) triblock copolymer

Poly(ethylene oxide/polylactide/poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO/PL/PEO) triblock copolymers, in which each block is connected by an ester bond, were synthesized by a coupling reaction between PL and PEO. Hydroxyl‐terminated PLs with various molecular weights were synthesized and used as hard segments. Hydroxyl‐terminated PEOs were converted to the corresponding acid halides via their acid group and used as a soft segment. Triblock copolymers were identified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ¹H NMR, and gel permeation chromatography. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X‐ray diffractometry of PEO/PL/PEO triblock copolymers suggested that PL and PEO blocks were phase‐separated and that the crystallization behavior of the PL block was markedly affected by the presence of the PEO block. PEO/PL/PEO triblock copolymers with PEO 0.75k had two exothermic peaks (by DSC), and both peaks were related to the crystallization of PL. According to thermogravimetric analysis, PEO/PL/PEO triblock copolymer showed a higher thermal stability than PL or PEO. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 2545–2555, 2002     

Synthesis and Characterization of α,ω‐bi[2,4‐dinitrophenyl (DNP)] poly(2‐methoxystyrene) Functional Polymers. Initial Evaluation of the Interaction of the Functional Polymers with RBL Mast Cells

Two series of functional polymers, α,ω‐bi[2,4‐dinitrophenyl][poly(ethylene oxide)‐b‐poly(2‐methoxystyrene)‐b‐poly(ethylene oxide)] (DNP‐PEO‐P2MS‐PEO‐DNP) and α,ω‐bi[2,4‐dinitrophenyl caproic][poly(ethylene oxide)‐b‐poly(2‐methoxystyrene)‐b‐poly(ethylene oxide)] (CDNP‐PEO‐P2MS‐PEO‐CDNP), were synthesized by anionic living polymerization. The polymers were characterized by FT‐IR, ¹H‐NMR and Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC). The molecular weight distributions for the lower molecular weight functional polymers were slightly broad (1.3–1.5). However, the molecular weight distributions for higher molecular weight polymers were narrower (1.1–1.2). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies showed thermal transitions indicative of the presence of microphases in the polymer solid state. The polymers were white powders and soluble in tetrahydrofuran. The binding affinity of DNP‐PEO‐P2MS‐PEO‐DNP ligands towards anti DNP IgE was determined by titrations with fluorescently labeled FITC‐IgE. A water soluble CDNP‐PEO‐P2MS‐PEO‐CDNP/DMEG (dimethoxyethylene glycol) complex binds and achieves steady state binding with solution IgE within a few seconds. This strongly suggests that CDNP functional polymers with improved water solubility have potential in therapeutics. Higher molecular weight (water insoluble) CDNP‐PEO‐P2MS‐PEO‐CDNP polymers were electrosprayed as fibers (500 nm) on silicon surface. Fluorescence spectroscopy clearly showed that RBL mast cells were interacting with the fibers suggesting that the cell‐surface receptors were clustered along the fiber surface. These observations suggest that the functional polymers hold promise for developing an antibody detection device.     

Supramolecular polyseudorotaxanes formation between star‐block copolymer and α‐cyclodextrin: From outer block to diblock inclusion complexation

A series of star‐block poly(L ‐lactide)‐b‐poly(ethylene oxide) (SPLLA‐b‐PEO) copolymers were synthesized by ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) and DCC chemistry. The inclusion complexes of SPLLA‐b‐PEO copolymers and α‐cyclodextrin (α‐CD) were prepared with two different methods. FTIR, ¹H NMR, WAXD, DSC, and TGA indicate that α‐CD only can be threaded onto PEO blocks in inclusion complexes of α‐CD‐SPLLA‐b‐PEO1.1K‐a, α‐CD‐SPLLA‐b‐PEO2K‐a, and α‐CD‐SPLLA‐b‐PEO5K‐a formed without heating and ultrasonication, and can be threaded onto both PLLA and PEO blocks in inclusion complexes of α‐CD‐SPLLA‐b‐PEO1.1K‐b, α‐CD‐SPLLA‐b‐PEO2K‐b, and α‐CD‐SPLLA‐b‐PEO5K‐b formed with heating and ultrasonication. Namely, α‐CDs can be threaded onto PEO blocks and the flanking bulky PLLA blocks of star‐block copolymers to form stable polyseudorotaxanes with heating method and ultrasonication to conquer the activation energy barrier of the inclusion complexation between bulky PLLA and α‐CD and the effect of the steric hindrance of star‐block copolymers. With the alteration of preparing methods, the inclusion complexes of α‐CD with the outer PEO block or PEO and PLLA blocks were obtained successfully. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 2754–2762, 2009