One-step synthesis of triarm block copolymers by simultaneous atom transfer radical and ring-opening polymerization

One-step synthesis of poly(MMA-b-CL) triarm block copolymers was carried out by atom transfer radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and ring-opening polymerization of epsilon-caprolactone (CL) using 3-chloro-1,2-propanediol trifunctional initiator. The triarm block copolymers comprising one poly-MMA arm and two poly-CL arms were synthesized by changing some polymerization conditions such as monomer/initiator concentration, polymerization time. The effect of the reactions conditions on the polydispersity and molecular weights was also investigated. The block lengths of the block copolymers were calculated by using H-1-nuclear magnetic resonance (H-1-NMR) spectrum. It was observed that the block length could be altered by varying the monomer and initiator concentrations. The characterization of the products was achieved by using H-1-NMR, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, gel-permeation chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis and fractional precipitation techniques.