Tailor-Made Soluble Polymer Supports: Synthesis of a Series of ATRP Initiators Containing Labile Wang Linkers

A series of functional initiators for atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) was prepared. These structures contain an ATRP initiating site, a labile p-alkoxybenzyl ester Wang linker and a functional end-group (i.e., -COOH, -N(3), -OH, -C CH, or -NHFmoc). These novel initiators can be utilized for synthesizing well-defined soluble polymer supports. For instance, the azide-, alcohol-, alkyne-, and NHFmoc- derivatives were tested as initiators for the bulk ATRP of styrene. SEC, MALDI-TOF-MS, and NMR measurements indicated that well-defined polystyrene samples with defined end-groups have been synthesized in this process. Moreover, it was demonstrated that the labile Wang linkers could be easily cleaved with a mild trifluoroacetic acid treatment.