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Synthesis of Terpolymers at Mild Temperatures Using Dynamic Sulfur Bonds in Poly(S-Divinylbenzene)
Published on: May 20, 2019
Controlled ring-opening polymerization of substituted episulfides for side-chain functional polysulfide-based
Matthias Kuhlmann1, Smriti Singh, Jürgen Groll
1Department and Chair for Functional Materials in Medicine and Dentistry, University of Würzburg, 97070 Würzburg, Germany.
Macromolecular Rapid Communications
|July 27, 2012
Summary
Researchers developed new polysulfides using controlled ring-opening polymerization of thio glycidyl ethers. These novel polymers, including block copolymers with polyethylene glycol, form particles in water, showing potential for advanced material applications.
Area of Science:
- Polymer Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Organic Synthesis
Background:
- Controlled polymerization techniques are crucial for synthesizing advanced polymer architectures.
- Thio glycidyl ethers offer unique functionalities for creating novel sulfur-containing polymers.
- Block copolymers with hydrophilic segments like polyethylene glycol (mPEG) are important for amphiphilic applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize side-chain multifunctional polysulfides via controlled ring-opening polymerization.
- To create monomodal homopolysulfides and polysulfide-block-mPEG copolymers.
- To synthesize and characterize novel copolymers of ethoxy ethyl thio glycidyl ether (EETGE) and mPEG, and deprotect them to poly(thio glycidol)-block-poly(ethylene glycol) copolymers.
Main Methods:
- Controlled ring-opening homo- and copolymerization using DBU and thiols.
- Synthesis and characterization of polysulfide homopolymers and block copolymers.
- Deprotection of copolymers to yield poly(thio glycidol)-block-poly(ethylene glycol).
- Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and cryo-Scanning Electron Microscopy (cryo-SEM) for particle analysis.
Main Results:
- Successful controlled ring-opening polymerization of ethoxy ethyl thio glycidyl ether (EETGE) and allyl thio glycidyl ether (ATGE).
- Synthesis of monomodal homopolysulfides and monomodal polysulfide-block-mPEG copolymers.
- First-time synthesis and characterization of EETGE-mPEG copolymers, yielding poly(thio glycidol)-block-poly(ethylene glycol) after deprotection.
- Demonstrated formation of particles in aqueous solutions by the amphiphilic copolymers.
Conclusions:
- DBU and thiol initiation enables controlled polymerization of thio glycidyl ethers.
- The synthesized polysulfide-based block copolymers are amphiphilic.
- These amphiphiles can self-assemble into particles in aqueous media, indicating potential applications in nanotechnology and drug delivery.
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