Supramolecular ABC Miktoarm Star Terpolymer Based on Host–Guest Inclusion Complexation

Abstract

A facile strategy for the construction of supramolecular star-shaped ABC terpolymer was proposed and realized via the molecular recognition between β-cyclodextrin- (β-CD-) based host and adamantane- (AD-)modified guest. In the first step, β-CD with two different functional groups was prepared, which was further used to construct a diblock copolymer host via “click” reaction with alkynyl-poly(ethylene glycol) (alkynyl-PEG) and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) monomer. On the other hand, the AD-modified polymeric guest was obtained by ATRP of methyl methacrylate (MMA) using an AD-modified initiator. Because of the molecular recognition between β-CDs and adamantyl moieties, the polymeric host and guest formed a star-shaped ABC miktoarm terpolymer via a simple mixing procedure. The resultant ABC miktoarm star-shaped terpolymer was characterized by two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy. This amphiphilic ABC miktoarm terpolymer could self-assemble into micelles ...