Premium
End‐capping double‐chain stranded polypseudorotaxanes using lengthily tunable poly(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate) blocks via atom transfer radical polymerization
Author(s) -
Tong Xinming,
Gao Peng,
Zhang Xiaowen,
Ye Lin,
Zhang Aiying,
Feng Zengguo
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
polymer international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.592
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1097-0126
pISSN - 0959-8103
DOI - 10.1002/pi.2806
Subject(s) - atom transfer radical polymerization , polymer chemistry , methacrylate , copolymer , ethylene glycol , peg ratio , supramolecular chemistry , polymerization , materials science , radical polymerization , chain transfer , cyclodextrin , chemistry , polymer , organic chemistry , molecule , finance , economics
Owing to a large cavity, γ‐cyclodextrin (γ‐CD) can form double‐chain inclusion complexes with linear polymeric chains such as poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and poly(ε‐caprolactone). However, to date few reports have focused on the end‐capping of these kinds of fascinating supramolecular entities. In this study, atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) was employed to prepare double‐chain stranded polyrotaxanes (PRs) with lengthily tunable poly(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) blocks as bulky end‐cappers. ATRP of HEMA was carried out using pseudopolyrotaxanes (PPRs) self‐assembled from a distal 2‐bromoisobutyryl end‐capped PEG (BriB‐PEG‐iBBr) with varying amounts of γ‐CDs as macroinitiator in the presence of Cu(I)Br/ N , N , N ′, N ″, N ″‐pentamethyldiethylenetriamine in aqueous solution at room temperature. The resulting PRs were demonstrated by the unique H‐like double‐chain stranded supramolecular architecture end‐capped with lengthily tunable PHEMA blocks. When the feed molar ratio of γ‐CD:BriB‐PEG‐iBBr varied from 5 to 60 in PPRs, the feed molar ratio in PRs was found to remain at around 20 with a higher yield. ATRP was successfully applied to prepare double‐chain stranded PRs end‐capped with lengthily tunable PHEMA blocks. This provides a protocol for the preparation of novel H‐like PR‐based block copolymers. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry