ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Synthesis of multiarm star block copolymers via simplified electrochemically mediated ATRP

Paweł Chmielarz

Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Rzeszów University of Technology, Rzeszów, Poland

E-mail: p_chmiel@prz.edu.pl

Abstract: Star-shaped polymers were received using β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) as core, and methyl methacrylate (MMA) arms via a simplified electrochemically mediated ATRP (seATRP). To demonstrate the living nature of the seATRP, star multiblock copolymers were successfully prepared by chain extension of the ω-functional PMMA arms with a tert-butyl acrylate (tBA), and respectively, n-butyl acrylate (BA). Novelty of this work is that the β-CD-PMMA-b-PtBA-b-PBA multiarm star block copolymers were synthesized for the first time via seATRP procedure, utilizing 4 × 10⁻⁶ mol% of Cu^II complex. The results from ¹H NMR spectral studies support the formation of 21-arm star (co)polymers. Furthermore, the GPC traces of the arms detached from synthesized star-like (co)polymers confirms the absence of star–star coupling reactions during seATRP. It was shown as an advantage over other ATRP methods–low catalyst concentrations and narrow molecular mass distributions, while maintaining well-defined composition.

Keywords: Polymer synthesis; seATRP; Multiarm cyclodextrin-based star copolymers

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-016-0089-0

Chemical Papers 71 (1) 161–170 (2017)