Abstracto

Synthesis And Micellization Properties Of Poly(t-Butyl Acrylate) b-Poly(-Caprolactone)-b-Poly(t-ButylAcrylate)Triblock Copolymers

Guohua Jiang, Wenxing Chen, Zhihua Wang

A novel symmetrical triblock copolymer poly (t-butyl acrylate)-b-poly(- caprolactone)-b-poly (t-butyl acrylate) (4, PBA-b-PCL-b-PBA) was successfully synthesized via ring-open polymerization (ROP) and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) methods. The self-assembly behaviors of the resultant triblock copolymer in trichloromethane/cyclohexane (1:1, v/v) mixture was studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The aggregates were prepared by first dissolving the copolymers in trichloromethane solvent and then adding cyclohexane to induce the segregation of the PCL chains. The elliptical nut-like micelles can be formed in the above mixed solvent. And a possible mechanism for the formation of the aggregates was proposed.