Synthesis of poly(aryl ether sulfone)-graft-polystyrene and poly(aryl ether sulfone)-graft-[polystyrene-block-poly(methyl methacrylate)] through atom transfer radical polymerization

A new graft copolymers poly(aryl ether sulfone)-graft-polystyrene (PSF-g-PS) and poly(aryl ether sulfone)-graft-[polystyrene-block-poly(methyl methacrylate)] (PSF-g-(PS-b-PMMA)) were successfully prepared via atom transfer radical polymerisation (ATRP) catalyzed by FeCl2/isophthalic acid in N,N-dimethyl formamide. The products were characterized by GPC, DSC, IR, TGA and NMR. The characterization data indicated that the graft copolymerization was accomplished via conventional ATRP mechanism. The effect of chloride content of the macroinitiator on the graft copolymerization was investigated. Only one glass transition temperature (T-g) was detected by DSC for the graft copolymer PSF-g-PS and two glass transition temperatures were observed in the DSC curve of PSF-g-(PS-b-PMMA). The presence of PSF in PSF-b-PS or PSF-g-(PS-b-PMMA) was found to improve thermal stabilities. (C) 2002 Society of Chemical Industry.