Synthesis and Aggregation Behavior of Multi‐Responsive Double Hydrophilic ABC Miktoarm Star Terpolymer

We report the first example of the synthesis and the “schizophrenic” micellization behavior of a multi‐responsive double hydrophilic ABC miktoarm star terpolymer. A well‐defined miktoarm star terpolymer consisting of poly(ethylene glycol), poly(2‐(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate), and poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) arms, PEG(‐b‐PDEA)‐b‐PNIPAM, was synthesized via the combination of atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and click reaction. Containing pH‐responsive PDEA and thermo‐responsive PNIPAM arms, this novel type of miktoarm star terpolymer molecularly dissolves in aqueous solution at acidic pH and room temperature, but supramolecularly self‐assembles into PDEA‐core micelles at alkaline pH and room temperature, and PNIPAM‐core micelles at acidic pH and elevated temperatures. Most importantly, both types of micellar aggregates possess well‐solvated hybrid coronas.

     

Chain Transfer and Efficiency of End‐Group Introduction in Free Radical Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate in the Presence of Poly(methyl methacrylate) Macromonomer

Summary: Experimental and modeling studies of addition–fragmentation chain transfer (AFCT) during radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate in the presence of poly(methyl methacrylate) macromonomer with 2‐carbomethoxy‐2‐propenyl ω‐ends (PMMA‐CO₂Me) at 60 °C are reported. The results revealed that AFCT involving PMMA‐CO₂Me formed in situ during methyl methacrylate polymerization has a negligible effect on the molecular weight distribution.

     

Azide/Alkyne‐“Click”‐Reactions of Encapsulated Reagents: Toward Self‐Healing Materials

The successful encapsulation of reactive components for the azide/alkyne‐“click”‐reaction is reported featuring for the first time the use of a liquid polymer as reactive component. A liquid, azido‐telechelic three‐arm star poly(isobutylene) ( = 3900 g · mol⁻¹) as well as trivalent alkynes were encapsulated into micron‐sized capsules and embedded into a polymer‐matrix (high‐molecular weight poly(isobutylene), = 250 000 g · mol⁻¹). Using (Cu^IBr(PPh₃)₃) as catalyst for the azide/alkyne‐“click”‐reaction, crosslinking of the two components at 40 °C is observed within 380 min and as fast as 10 min at 80 °C. Significant recovery of the tensile storage modulus was observed in a material containing 10 wt.‐% and accordingly 5 wt.‐% capsules including the reactive components within 5 d at room temperature, thus proving a new concept for materials with self‐healing properties.

     

Hairy PEO‐Silica Nanoparticles through Surface‐Initiated Polymerization of Ethylene Oxide

Summary: The grafting of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) onto silica nanoparticles was performed in situ by the ring‐opening polymerization of the oxirane monomer initiated from the mineral surface using aluminium isopropoxide as an initiator/heterogeneous catalyst. Alcohol groups were first introduced onto silica by reacting the surfacic silanols with prehydrolyzed 3‐glycidoxypropyl trimethoxysilane. The alcohol‐grafted silica played the role of a coinitiator/chain‐transfer agent in the polymerization reaction and enabled the formation of irreversibly bonded polymer chains. Silica nanoparticles containing up to 40 wt.‐% of a hairy layer of grafted PEO chains were successfully produced by this technique.

The grafting of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) onto silica nanoparticles by in‐situ ring‐opening polymerization of the oxirane monomer.     

“Click” Dielectrics: Use of 1,3‐Dipolar Cycloadditions to Generate Diverse Core‐Shell Nanoparticle Structures with Applications to Flexible Electronics

We have synthesized a “universal ligand” incorporating a phosphonate surface anchor and a terminal alkyne moiety which binds to TiO₂ nanoparticles and exhibits excellent dispersity in organic solvents. The alkyne functionality permits attachment of azide terminated polymer shells using “click” chemistry. Thus TiO₂ core nanoparticles have been encapsulated with both polystyrene and poly(t‐butyl acrylate) shells. The TiO₂‐poly(t‐butyl acrylate) core shell nanoparticles are amenable to further chemical transformation into TiO₂‐poly(acrylic acid) nanoparticles through ester hydrolysis. These TiO₂‐polyacrylic acid nanoparticles are dispersible in aqueous solution. The resulting core‐shell nanoparticles have been incorporated as high K dielectric films in capacitor and organic thin film transistor devices and are promising new materials for flexible electronics applications.

     

Bulk High‐Impact Polystyrene Process, 1

In relation to the bulk high‐impact polystyrene process, this work investigates the partition between phases of styrene and an initiator: tert‐butyl peroctoate. A Flory‐Huggins model was applied for predicting the phase separation point and the partitions of styrene and tert‐butyl peroctoate. For blends of styrene, polystyrene, and a styrene‐butadiene diblock copolymer, the model provides reasonable predictions of a ternary equilibrium diagram. For blends of styrene, polystyrene, polybutadiene, and tert‐butyl peroctoate, the partition of tert‐butyl peroctoate was measured at 25 °C. At emulated conversions of 13% or lower, equilibrium was reached after 1 h of mixing time. For the higher molar masses and conversion of 16%, equilibrium was not reached after 24 h of mixing time. To fit the equilibrium measurements, the solubility parameter of tert‐butyl peroctoate was adjusted.

     

Toward Main Chain Metallo‐Terpyridyl Supramolecular Polymers: “The Metal Does the Trick”

Metallo‐supramolecular chemistry offers possibilities for the construction of stimuli‐responsive polymeric materials where the environment can have a large impact on the reversibility and strength of interactions between the individual components. The potential of manipulating the strength of the intermolecular non‐covalent bonds can result in impressive modifications of the metallo‐supramolecular structure and, subsequently, produces changes in the properties of the designed material. The present feature article provides an overview on recent developments in the field of metallo‐polymerization of chelating terpyridyl and analogues ligands. Synthetic strategies are described followed by a discussion regarding the characterization and the application of the reviewed metallo‐supramolecular structures, mainly based on terpyridines.

     

Multi‐Compartment Unimolecular Micelles from (ABC)n Multi‐Arm Star Triblock Terpolymers

Four linear and four star equimolar terpolymers based on non‐ionic hydrophilic methoxy hexa(ethylene glycol) methacrylate, ionizable hydrophilic 2‐(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate and neutral hydrophobic methyl methacrylate were synthesized using group transfer polymerization and investigated in aqueous dilute solutions. It was found that the (ABC)_n multi‐arm star terpolymers formed unimolecular micelles comprising three centrosymmetric compartments. The position of each compartment could be determined by the block sequence (ABC, ACB or BAC) at will. On the other hand, the ABC linear counterparts formed loose associates with very low aggregation numbers. It was shown that the polymer architecture (linear versus star) greatly affected the micellization phenomena of the terpolymers in selective media.

     

Preparation of Polar Ethylene–Norbornene Copolymers by Metallocene Terpolymerization with Triisobutylaluminium‐Protected But‐3‐en‐1‐ol

But‐3‐en‐1‐ol has been pre‐protected by triisobutylaluminium and terpolymerized with ethylene and norbornene by rac‐[Et(Ind)₂]ZrCl₂/MAO catalysts. The strong polarity of diisobutyl(but‐3‐en‐1‐oxy)aluminum causes a slight reduction in the catalyst activity and yields a small fraction of crystallinity. The but‐3‐en‐1‐ol content in the terpolymer is as high as 3.2% and can be readily adjusted by varying the reaction conditions. When the norbornene/ethylene ratio is over 10, the norbornene incorporation efficiency is not affected by the polar monomer and is close to that of the copolymerization. Similar to the ethylene/norbornene copolymers, the thermal properties of the obtained terpolymers are mainly determined by their norbornene contents.

     

Microwave‐Assisted Ring‐Opening Polymerization of ε‐Caprolactone in the Presence of Ionic Liquid

Summary: Microwave‐assisted ring‐opening polymerization of ε‐caprolactone in the presence of 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ionic liquid using zinc oxide as a catalyst is investigated. By adding 30 wt.‐% ionic liquid, poly(ε‐caprolactone) with a weight‐average molar mass of 28 500 g · mol⁻¹ is obtained at 85 W for 30 min. The results indicate that the polymerization could be efficiently enhanced in the presence of ionic liquids under microwave irradiation because ionic liquids can effectively absorb microwave energy.

     

Small‐Angle Scattering From Branched Polymers

The single‐polymer form factor is determined for branched polymers using a scaling argument in order to recover the low‐Q Porod exponent characteristic of the overall structure. The high‐Q Porod exponent characterizes the local branching structure. An alternative approach based on a high‐Q expansion contains information about functionality, branch length and branch content. The specific case of a starburst dendrimer for which the form factor is known is discussed. The model predictions are compared to small‐angle neutron scattering data from a dilute solution of dendrimer in D₂O.

     

Supramolecular Thermoresponsive Hyperbranched Polymers Constructed from Poly(N‐Isopropylacrylamide) Containing One Adamantyl and Two β‐Cyclodextrin Terminal Moieties

Poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) oligomer containing one adamantyl (AD) and two β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD) moieties at the chain terminals, AD‐PNIPAM‐(β‐CD)₂, was synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and successive click reactions. In aqueous solution, AD‐PNIPAM‐(β‐CD)₂ spontaneously forms supramolecular thermoresponsive hyperbranched polymers via molecular recognition between AD and β‐CD moieties. To the best of our knowledge, this work represents the first report of the construction of supramolecular thermoresponsive hyperbranched polymers from well‐defined polymeric AB₂ building units.

     

Aromatic Ring‐Fused Carborane‐Based Luminescent π‐Conjugated Polymers

A series of π‐conjugated polymers linked by benzocarborane (1,2‐(buta‐1′,3′‐diene‐1′,4′‐diyl)‐1,2‐dicarbadodecaborane) were synthesized via Sonogashira–Hagihara polycondensation reaction. The opened molecular structure of diiodo monomer containing benzocarborane resulted in fast polymerization and high molecular weights. The obtained polymers were fully characterized by ¹H, ¹³C, and ¹¹B NMR spectroscopies. UV‐vis absorption and photoluminescence studies revealed the acceptor‐profile of benzocarborane. Unlike the polymers linked by o‐carborane, these polymers exhibited strong luminescence in the solution state, presumably because the inductive effect of carborane is dominant, rather than cage‐π interactions.

     

Construction of Large‐Scale Highly Ordered Macroporous Monoliths of π‐Conjugated Polymers

Large scale of well‐ordered macroporous π‐conjugated polymer monoliths have been successfully prepared through a new approach using micrometer‐sized naphthalene crystals as templates. The macroporous monoliths of poly(p‐phenylenevinylene) (PPV) and poly(p‐phenyleneethynylene) (PPE) grew along the unidirectional freezing direction inside the template naphthalene crystals which lead to the formation of controlling morphologies and homogeneous diameters. The polymer monoliths show straight and lamella macroporous structures. The diameters of pores and the thickness of pore walls can be controlled by tuning the freezing temperature.

     

Span‐Length Distributions of Star‐Branched Polymers

Many relations between the physical, rheological or mechanical properties of linear polymers and their molar mass are well known. For disperse polymers, parameters that express these relations are typically related to (a combination of) the moments of the molar‐mass distribution. Properties of branched, nonlinear polymers have been far more difficult to describe in the form of general relations. Monodisperse star polymers or regular stars, with a distinct number of arms and equal arm length, are the simplest member of the family of branched polymers and have served as model compounds in many studies. For these regular stars, the relation between zero shear viscosity and arm or span length has been determined. To establish equivalent relations for disperse star‐branched polymers, it is important to assess the span‐length distribution and its moments; these parameters can be calculated when the distribution of the molar mass of the arms of a star‐branched polymer is known, for instance, for a known polymerization mechanism.

Span‐length probability functions of star‐branched polycondensates with x_n = 100: f = 1 (•), f = 2 (○), f = 3 (▪), f = 5 (□), and f = 10 (+).     

Low‐Temperature Growth of Thick Polystyrene Brushes via ATRP

Summary: This contribution describes the graft polymerization of polystyrene (PS) by atom transfer radical polymerization at 50, 60, and 75 °C. Thick PS brushes were grown from initiator‐functionalized PGMA layers on silicon, and constant growth rates provide indirect evidence that the polymerizations were controlled.

Formation of polystyrene brushes at T < T_g by ATRP of styrene from α‐bromoester initiator‐functionalized poly(glycidyl methacrylate) layers.     

pH/Thermosensitive Hydrogels Formed at Low pH by a PMMA‐PAA‐P2VP‐PAA‐PMMA Pentablock Terpolymer

A poly(methyl methacrylate)‐block‐poly(acrylic acid)‐block‐poly(2‐vinyl pyridine)‐block‐poly(acrylic acid)‐block‐poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA‐PAA‐P2VP‐PAA‐PMMA), pentablock terpolymer has been synthesized by anionic polymerization with sequential addition of monomers and studied in aqueous media at low pH. The system exhibits combined properties and adopts the behavior of ‘telechelic’ polyelectrolytes and that of double hydrophilic polyampholytes. This complex behavior leads to the pentablock terpolymer forming a pH and temperature sensitive reversible hydrogel at very low polymer concentration.

     

Water Soluble Star‐block Copolypeptides: Towards Biodegradable Nanocarriers for Versatile and Simultaneous Encapsulation

The synthesis of water soluble star‐block copolypeptides and their encapsulation properties are described. The star‐block copolypeptides, obtained by ring‐opening polymerization of amino acid N‐carboxyanhydrides, consist of a PEI core, a hydrophobic polyphenylalanine or polyleucine inner shell, and a negatively charged polyglutamate outer shell. The encapsulation study showed that these water soluble, amphiphilic star‐block copolypeptides could simultaneously encapsulate versatile compounds ranging from hydrophobic to anionic and cationic hydrophilic guest molecules.

     

A Facile Two‐Step Route to Branched Polyisoprenes via ABn‐Macromonomers

A facile two‐step synthesis for branched poly(isoprene)s (PI) based on polyaddition of AB_n‐type macromonomers is described. The synthesis of the macromonomers was achieved by anionic polymerization of isoprene and subsequent end‐capping of the polymers by addition of chlorodimethylsilane to the living carbanions. This led to PI‐based macromonomers with narrow polydispersity ( / < 1.15) and molecular weights in the range of 1 700 – 22 100 g · mol⁻¹. Synthesis of the branched polymers was carried out by a hydrosilylation‐based polymerization of the macromonomers. Characterization via SEC, SEC‐MALLS, coupled SEC‐viscosimetry and ¹H‐NMR‐spectroscopy supported the formation of branched structures. Interestingly, these branched polymers exhibited α‐values that were similar to those reported for hyperbranched polymers based on AB₂‐monomers.

     

Multi‐Morphological Complex Aggregates Formed from Amphiphilic Poly(ethylene oxide)‐block‐Polydimethylsiloxane‐block‐Poly(ethylene oxide) Triblock Copolymers

Summary: Amphiphilic triblock copolymers (PEO_x‐b‐PDMS_y‐b‐PEO_x) with different block lengths were synthesized and multi‐morphological complex crew‐cut, star‐like, and short‐chain aggregates were prepared by self‐assembly of the given copolymers. The morphologies and dimensions of the aggregates can be well controlled by variation of the preparation conditions. TEM, SEM, FFR‐TEM, and LLS studies show the resulting morphologies range from LCMs, unilamellar or multilayer vesicles, LCVs, porous spheres to nanorods.

TEM images of the vesicles formed from PEO‐b‐PDMS‐b‐PEO.