Abstract
Heteroarm star-shaped polymers containing independent stimuli-responsive moieties were synthesized by a one-pot arm-linking reaction based on base-assisting living cationic polymerization. Mixing two or more kinds of living polymers followed by the linking reaction with a divinyl compound successfully produced a heteroarm star-shaped polymer containing a number of arm chains with a narrow molecular weight distribution (Mw/Mn=1.14–1.48) and high yield. For example, four kinds of linear poly(vinyl ether)s containing oxyethylene and alicyclic pendants were linked quantitatively to give a star polymer without any deactivation of the starting polymers. The heteroarm star-shaped polymers exhibited their unique stimuli-responsive behaviors in water or their film surfaces. Furthermore, linear living poly(2-methoxyethyl vinyl ether) and poly(2-phthalimidoethyl vinyl ether) were linked efficiently despite their different reactivities, producing a heteroarm star-shaped polymer with amino-containing and thermosensitive arms. The obtained star polymer exhibited unique aggregation behaviors in response to both pH and temperature in water. This report demonstrates that this one-pot arm-linking reaction is a facile and effective methodology for synthesis of heteroarm star polymers with various combinations of stimuli-responsive arm chains.
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Acknowledgements
This research was partially supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (No. 22107006) on Innovative Areas of ‘Fusion Materials: Creative Development of Materials and Exploration of Their Function through Molecular Control’ (no. 2206) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (MEXT) and a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) (No. 21550209) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).
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Oda, Y., Shibata, T., Tsujimoto, H. et al. Highly efficient synthesis of heteroarm star-shaped polymers using polymer-linking reaction and their characteristic stimuli-responsive behaviors. Polym J 44, 541–549 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/pj.2012.23
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/pj.2012.23
