Synthesis and characterization of poly[(4-vinylphenyl)dimethyl- silane]-b-polybutadiene-b-poly[(4-vinylphenyl)dimethylsilane] (PVPDMS-b-PBd-b-PVPDMS)

The novel functionalized triblock copolymers, poly[(4-vinylphenyl)dimethylsilane]-b-polybutadiene-b-poly[(4-vinylphenyl)- dimethylsilane] (PVPDMS-b-PBd-b-PVPDMS), were synthesized by anionic polymerization method using high vacuum technique. The hydrocarbon-soluble dilithium initiator synthesized from 1,3-di[1-(methylphenyl)ethenyl]benzene (MPEB) was used to synthesize polybutadiene (PBd) precursors and the triblock copolymers in the presence of sec-BuOLi. The precursors and copolymers were characterized by size exclusion chromatography (SEC), ¹HNMR and DSC techniques.