Characterization of Functional Poly(ethylene oxide)s and Their Corresponding Polystyrene Block Copolymers by Liquid Chromatography under Critical Conditions in Organic Solvents

Separation of functional poly(ethylene oxide) PEO and PEO block copolymers was investigated using liquid chromatography under critical conditions (LCCC) with a mixture of organic solvents as eluent. The optimum eluent is a mixture of 58.05% chloroform, 6.45% methanol, and 35.50% n-heptane (v/v/v) using a reverse phase (C-8) column. Unlike what was expected, the elution mechanism is governed by the interaction of a polar end-group with the column. In these conditions, poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) functionalized with either an acrylate or alkoxyamine moieties were separated. This allows us to investigate the efficiency of the synthesis of poly(ethylene oxide)-b-polystyrene (PEO-b-PS) and polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene oxide) b-polystyrene (PS-b-PEO-b-PS) block copolymers prepared via the combination of 1,2 radical intermolecular addition followed by the nitroxide-mediated polymerization NMP of styrene. Amphiphilic diblock PEO-b-PS and triblock PS-b-PEO-b-PS copolymers were also separated from PEO homopolymers using the same experimental conditions. We showed that the PEO block is then invisible, and the calibration curve obtained using PS homopolymer standards could be used to determine the whole molar mass of the PS block in block copolymers with PS and PEO segments, with a weak influence of the architecture.