Direct Synthesis of Thermally Responsive DMA/NIPAM Diblock and DMA/NIPAM/DMA Triblock Copolymers Via Aqueous, Room Temperature RAFT Polymerization

Abstract

We report aqueous, room temperature RAFT polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) and, subsequently, its block copolymerization utilizing a poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide) macro-CTA. A series of thermally responsive AB diblock and ABA triblock copolymers have been prepared. These polymers contain hydrophilic N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMA) A blocks of fixed molecular weight and temperature-responsive NIPAM B blocks of varied chain length. Using a combination of 1H NMR spectroscopy, T2 relaxation measurements, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and static light scattering (SLS), we demonstrate that these block copolymers are indeed capable of reversibly forming micelles in response to changes in solution temperature and that the micellar size and transition temperature are dependent on both the NIPAM block length and the polymer architecture (diblock vs triblock).

Department(s)

Materials Science and Engineering

Keywords and Phrases

N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMA); N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM), Copolymerization; Light scattering; Molecular weight; Nuclear magnetic resonance, Block copolymers

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0024-9297

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2006 American Chemical Society (ACS), All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Mar 2006

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