Amphiphilic tetra-PCL-b-PEG star block copolymers using benzoxazinone-based linking groups

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Carolin Bunk - , Chair of Organic Chemistry of Polymers, Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)
  • Hartmut Komber - , Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)
  • Michael Lang - , Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)
  • Nora Fribiczer - , Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Author)
  • Martin Geisler - , Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)
  • Petr Formanek - , Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)
  • Lothar Jakisch - , Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)
  • Sebastian Seiffert - , Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Author)
  • Brigitte Voit - , Chair of Organic Chemistry of Polymers, Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • Frank Boehme - , Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)

Abstract

In this study, two well-defined amphiphilic tetra-arm star block copolymers with a poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (epsilon-CL) core and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) arms with different length (800 g mol(-1) and 2100 g mol(-1)) were prepared by a hetero-complementary linking reaction and studied in detail. A pentaerythritol core was used as an initiator for the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of epsilon-CL, generating a hydroxy-terminated tetra-arm star polymer (tetra-PCL-OH) with controlled molar mass (M-n similar to 10 kg mol(-1)) and low dispersity (D < 1.1). After end group esterfication with 2-(4-nitrophenyl)-4-oxo-4H-benzo[d][1,3]oxazine-7-carboxylic acid chloride, linear hydrophilic PEG was attached to the respective tetra-PCL to obtain tetra-PCL-b-PEG star block copolymers. The behavior of the two amphiphilic block copolymers was studied in water by a combination of variable-temperature H-1 NMR spectroscopy, DLS, DSC and TEM measurements. In the case of longer PEG arms, spherical micelles form at elevated temperatures and remain stable at room temperature over days. Transmission electron microscopy indicates a possible slow morphology change of spherical micelles into long cylindrical micelles after one week. Suspensions of the star block copolymers with the short PEG arms in water remain cloudy, in contrast to the star block copolymers with long arms.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1965-1977
Number of pages13
JournalPolymer chemistry
Volume14 (2023)
Issue number16
Early online dateMar 2023
Publication statusPublished - 29 Mar 2023
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85152108185
ORCID /0000-0002-4531-691X/work/148608053

Keywords

Keywords

  • Multifunctional coupling agents, Crystallization behavior, Poly(ethylene glycol), Molecular-dynamics, Micelles, Oxide), Poly(epsilon-caprolactone), Dispersions, Scattering, Sequence