Sliding-Graft Interpenetrating Polymer Networks from Simultaneous “Click Chemistry” and Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization

Abstract

In this work, a kind of semi-interpenetrating polymer network (s-IPN) with unique molecular structures, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) network with movable sliding-grafted poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) (s-IPN-PEG/α-CD-sg- PHEMA), were first reported. s-IPN-PEG/α-CD-sg-PHEMAs were prepared by simultaneous “click chemistry” and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of a mixture of poly(ethylene glycol)-diazide/bromobutyryloxy α-cyclodextrin inclusion complex (N3-PEG-N3/(α-CD-BIBB)m), tetrakis(2-propynyloxymethyl) methane (TMOP), CuBr, pentamethyldiethylenetriamine (PMDETA), HEMA and DMF. Attributable to the controlled characters of ATRP and the quantitative yields of “click chemistry”, the prepared s-IPN-PEG/α-CD-sg-PHEMAs have the well-defined PEG networks, as well as uniform and tunable sliding-grafted PHEMA chains. The length of sliding-grafted PHEMA of the s-IPN-PEG/α-CD-sg-PHEMA can be regulated by changing polymerization times. The molecular structures, and physical and thermal properti...