CONTROLLED SYNTHESIS OF AMPHIPHILIC BLOCK POLYMERS HAVING GLUCOSE RESIDUES AND THEIR STRUCTURE FORMATION

Vinyl ether （VE）-based amphiphilic block copolymers with D-glucose residues as hydrophilicpendants were synthesized by CH;CH（OiBu）Cl/ZnI;-initiated sequential living cationic copolymerization of3-O-（vinyloxy）ethyl-1, 2:5, 6-di-O-isopropylidene-D-glucofuranose （IGVE） and isobutyl VE （IBVE ） andsubsequent deprotection. The precursor block copolymers had a narrow molecular weight distribution（M;/M;～1.1） and a controlled segmental composition. The solubility characteristics of the amphiphiliccopolymer depended strongly on composition. Their solvent-cast thin films were examined, under atransmission electron microscope, and could be seen to exhibit various microphase-separated surfacemorphologies such as spheres, cylinders, and lamellae, depending on composition. The amphiphiliccopolymers with the appropriate segmental composition were found to form a stable monolayer at the air-water interface, which was successfully transferred onto a substrate by the Langmuir-Blodgett （LB）technique. The layered strucfure of the built-up LB films was controlled by blending the homopolymer.