Multibranched polymethacrylates by anionic grafting-from method via desilylation of poly(4-trimethylsilylmethylstyrene)

Abstract

Abstract A benzyltrimethylsilane (BnTMS)/potassium tert-butoxide (t-BuOK) initiator system for anionic polymerization was applied to poly(4-trimethylsilylmethylstyrene) (PTMSMS) in the presence of 1,1-diphenylethylene (DPE) to construct polyanion macroinitiators and polymerize methacrylate monomers therefrom. Using this method, desilylation of PTMSMS was quantitatively processed and methacrylate monomers were polymerized from the macroinitiator. The obtained multibranched polymers had narrow molecular weight distributions, indicating the well-controlled polymerization of the monomers from the macroinitiator. Therefore, it was demonstrated that PTMSMS can be a suitable precursor for the preparation of multibranched polymers. Additionally, a sequential addition of methacrylate monomers to the polyanion macroinitiator lead to a core-shell multibranched polymer with a narrow molecular weight distribution.