Synthesis of Triblock and Multiblock Methacrylate Polymers and Self-Assembly of Stimuli Responsive Triblock Polymers

Multisegmented poly(methacrylate)s were synthesized using one pot reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer polymerization. Initially, a series of triblock copolymers were synthesized with different ratios of trimethylsilyl methacrylate, di(ethylene oxide) methacrylate, and oligo(ethylene oxide) methacrylate, and different total polymer molecular weights. Additionally, a polymer containing seven distinct blocks of methacrylic monomers was synthesized in one pot. For the triblock copolymers, the trimethylsilyl group was subsequently hydrolyzed, and the self-assembly of the triblock copolymer was studied in water, under different pH and thermal conditions. (c) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014, 52, 2548-2555