Preparation of PMMA-PS-PMMA via combination of anionic and photoinduced charge-transfer polymerization

Abstract

PMMA–PS–PMMA triblock copolymers were prepared by the combination of an anionic mechanism with charge-transfer polymerization. Polystyrene with aromatic tertiary amino groups at both ends (PSba) was synthesized first by the reaction of a living polystyrene macrodianion with excess p-(dimethylamino)benzaldehyde; then, the PSba was constituted into a binary system with benzophenone (BP) to initiate the polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) under UV irradiation. The intermediate and resulting block copolymers were characterized by GPC, IR, and 1H-NMR. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 74: 2072–2076, 1999