Polystyrene-block-poly(2-cinnamoylethyl methacrylate) tadpole molecules

In THF/cyclopentane (CP) or THF/cyclohexane (CH) mixtures with sufficiently high CP or CH contents, polystyrene-block-poly(2-cinnamoylethyl metharylate) (PS-b-PCEMA) forms micelles with PCEMA as the core. Coexisting with the micelles are unimer chains. The unimers are expected to have the tadpole conformation with the PS block assuming the normal random-coil conformation and the PCEMA block clustering together like a globule. Photo-cross-linking the PCEMA globule of the unimers enabled our first preparation of permanent tadpole molecules from diblock copolymers. The tadpole conformation has been confirmed by our GPC, light scattering, and NMR study.