Synthesis and Chemical Transformation of PtBMA-b-P4VP by Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization

Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of tert-butylmethacrylate (tBMA) was studied using ethyl-2-chloropropionate (ECP) as initiator in DMF. The number-average molecular weight of the PtBMA-Cl with a chlorine end group (PtBMA-Cl) can be controlled from 1.8×103 to 6.4×103 by adjusting the polymerization time. Poly(tert-butylmethacrylate)-b-poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PtBMA-b-P4VP) was prepared by ATRP using PtBMA-Cl as macroinitiator, CuCl and 5,5,7,12,12,14-hexamethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazamacrocyclotetradecane (Me6［14］aneN4) as catalyst and ligand. In this case, the yield of P4VP can be up to 60%. Structure and number-average molecular weight of PtBMA-Cl and PtBMA-b-P4VP were characterized by means of Fourier transform infrared(FT-IR) spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (1HNMR) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Furthermore, the quaternization of the synthesized diblock copolymer were finished at first. The quaternizated diblock copolymer was then hydrolyzed under room temperature to form hydrophilic PMAAbQPVPB diblock copolymer.The results show that the chain lenth ratio of PtBMA with P4VP can be adjusted in rage of 1∶0.5-1∶1 in ATRP process.The structure of black copolymers was clear based on the analysis of 1H-NMR and FT-IR. tert-butylmethacrylate； 4-vinylpyridine； atom transfer radical polymerization； block copolymer