Structure and mobility of a series of poly(alkyl l-glutamate)s studied by VT 13C CPMAS NMR spectroscopy

VT CPMAS NMR measurements were carried out for a series of poly(alkyl l-glutamate)s (PALG) which have n-alkyl side chains with carbon numbers ranging from 2 to 12 in order to investigate the structure and mobility of the main and the side chains. From the temperature dependencies of the peak intensities for the PALGs, the relative mobilities of the main and side chains are discussed. For PG-2 and PG-4, the molecular motions of both the main and side chains are not very fast. From the amount ratio between the main and side chains, the main chain dominates the entire mobility of the polymer. As the side chain length increases, the side chain motion is drastically activated by a temperature change. In addition, the main chain motion is induced by the side chain motion. For PALGs with long alkyl side chains, the mobilities of the polymers are governed by the structure and mobility of the side chain.