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Published on: February 7, 2017
Tetrakis(dialkylamino)phosphonium Polyelectrolytes Prepared by Reversible Addition-Fragmentation Chain Transfer
C Tyler Womble1, Geoffrey W Coates2, Krzysztof Matyjaszewski1
1Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213-2617, United States.
Abstract:
A tetrakis(dialkylamino)phosphonium cation ([P(NR2)4]+) was appended to a styrenic monomer and explored in reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (RAFT) to conduct random copolymerizations of the cationic monomer with styrene. Well-defined polyelectrolytes with molecular weights up to ∼30 100 and dispersities between ∼1.2 and 1.4 were obtained. Up to 18.9 mol % of the ionic monomer could be incorporated into the polymer with hexafluorophosphate or bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide acting as the counterion during polymerization. Differential scanning calorimetry of the hexafluorophosphate polymers revealed glass transition temperatures higher than polystyrene likely due to interactions between the anion and the polymer. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated these materials have high thermal stability with decomposition temperatures approaching 400 °C.
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