Issue 1, 2012

Synthesis of fullerene-containing poly(ethylene oxide)-block-polystyrene as model shape amphiphiles with variable composition, diverse architecture, and high fullerene functionality

Abstract

A series of [60]fullerene (C60)-containing poly(ethylene oxide)-block-polystyrene (PEO-b-PS) with various numbers and different locations of C60 along the polymer chains were designed and synthesized via a combination of “click” chemistry and living/controlled polymerization techniques such as anionic polymerization, atom transfer radical polymerization, and reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer polymerization. One C60 was tethered either to the end of a PS block (PEO-b-PS-C60) or at the junction point between PS and PEO blocks [PEO-(C60)-PS]; while multiple C60s could be attached randomly along the PS block (PEO-b-PS/C60). The reaction conditions were carefully controlled to ensure a quantitative C60 functionality at precise locations in the case of PEO-b-PS-C60 and PEO-(C60)-PS and to avoid crosslinking in the synthesis of PEO-b-PS/C60. The results have implications in the precision synthesis of fullerenepolymers in general. These C60-containing diblock copolymers possess different composition, diverse architecture, and high fullerene functionality. They can serve as model “shape amphiphiles” for the construction of complex hierarchical structures via the interplay between C60–C60 aggregation and block copolymerself-assembly/micro-phase separation.

Graphical abstract: Synthesis of fullerene -containing poly(ethylene oxide)-block-polystyrene as model shape amphiphiles with variable composition, diverse architecture, and high fullerene functionality

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
24 Sep 2011
Accepted
13 Oct 2011
First published
08 Nov 2011

Polym. Chem., 2012,3, 124-134

Synthesis of fullerene-containing poly(ethylene oxide)-block-polystyrene as model shape amphiphiles with variable composition, diverse architecture, and high fullerene functionality

X. Dong, W. Zhang, Y. Li, M. Huang, S. Zhang, R. P. Quirk and S. Z. D. Cheng, Polym. Chem., 2012, 3, 124 DOI: 10.1039/C1PY00435B

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