Facile Synthetic Approach to Exact Graft (Co)polymers and Double-Tailed Polystyrene: Linking Reaction of Living Anionic Polymers with Specially Designed In-Chain-Multifunctionalized Polystyrenes

Abstract

This paper describes the facile synthesis of a diverse range of exact graft (co)polymers and double-tailed polystyrene (PS) by a linking reaction of living anionic polymers with a specially designed in-chain-multifunctionalized backbone PS. The backbone PS, precisely controlled in DPE placement and number as well as molecular weight, was prepared by combining the iterative synthetic sequence with the subsequent coupling reaction and then reacted with either of living anionic PS, polyisoprene (PI), or poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). As a result, new exact graft (co)polymers having six PS, six PI, and six PMMA graft chains were successfully synthesized. Furthermore, a new double-tailed exact graft PS having 12 PS graft chains (two PS chains per one branch point) could also be synthesized by repeating twice the addition reaction of living anionic PS to the backbone PS. In the graft (co)polymers herein synthesized, all of the parameters that define the structure of a graft (co)polymer, i.e., molecular weights of the backbone and the graft chains, distance between the graft chains, and the number of branch points, are perfectly controlled.