Radical polymerization approach for ring opened oxanorbornene anhydride based macromonomers.

Area of Science:

• Polymer Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Macromonomer synthesis is crucial for creating complex polymer architectures.
• Ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) and reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization are versatile techniques for polymer synthesis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize end-group functionalized cis-Norbornene-5-6-endo-dicarboxylic anhydride macromonomers.
• To create comb-shaped branched polymer brushes using RAFT polymerization.
• To explore the potential of these polymers in biological applications.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of poly(cis-Norbornene-5-6-endo-Dicarboxylic anhydride) acrylate macromonomer via ROMP.
• Polymerization of the macromonomer using RAFT polymerization to form comb structures.
• Characterization of polymer architecture using atomic force microscopy (AFM).

Main Results:

• Successfully synthesized a chiseled poly(cis-Norbornene-5-6-endo-Dicarboxylic anhydride) acrylate macromonomer.
• Achieved comb-shaped branched polymer brushes with a low polydispersity index (PDI < 1.2) via RAFT polymerization.
• AFM confirmed the characteristic comb shape of the synthesized branched polymer brushes.

Conclusions:

• A novel method for synthesizing comb-structured polymers was developed, involving polymerizable end-group attachment to a macromonomer.
• The synthesized comb polymers exhibit controlled architecture and low PDI.
• These comb-structured polymers hold promise for various biological applications.