Controlled synthesis and optical investigation of conjugated rod-coil diblock copolymer based on poly(3-hexylthiophene) and poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate-random-1-pyrenylmethyl methacrylate-random-methacrylate spirooxazine)

This research presents a conjugated rod-coil diblock copolymer P3HT-b-P(DMAEMA-r-PyMA-r-MSp) which was synthesized by a combination of the Kumada catalyst-transfer polymerization and ATRP method of co-monomers including 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA), 1-pyrenylmethyl methacrylate (PyMA) and methacrylate spirooxazine (MSp). The synthesized copolymer P3HT-b-P(DMAEMA-r-PyMA-r-MSp) revealed a controlled molecular weight of 12,200 g/mol with a dispersity index of 1.16. The chemical structure of the diblock polymer was confirmed via 1H NMR and FTIR spectroscopies. In addition, its optical and thermal properties were also investigated via differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), UV-Vis and photoluminescence spectroscopies. The influence of solvent polarity on the conformational states and optical properties of the regioregular P3HT chains was examined.