DOI: 10.1140/epje/e2003-00009-x
Complex nanostructured materials from segmented copolymers prepared by ATRP
T. Kowalewski, R.D. McCullough and K. MatyjaszewskiCarnegie Mellon University, Department of Chemistry 4400 Fifth Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15213, U.S.A.
(Received 9 July 2002 Published online: 11 March 2003 )
Abstract
The development of new controlled/living radical polymerization
processes, such as Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (ATRP) and other
techniques such as nitroxide mediated polymerization and degenerative transfer
processes, including RAFT, opened the way to the use of radical polymerization
for the synthesis of well-defined, complex functional nanostructures. The
development of such nanostructures is primarily dependent on self-assembly of
well-defined segmented copolymers. This article describes the fundamentals of
ATRP, relevant to the synthesis of such systems. The self-assembly of block
copolymers prepared by ATRP is illustrated by three examples. In the first, block
copolymers of poly(butyl acrylate) with polyacrylonitrile phase separate, leading
to spherical, cylindrical or lamellar morphologies, depending on the block
copolymer composition. At a higher temperature, polyacrylonitrile block converts
to nanostructured carbon clusters, whereas poly(butyl acrylate) block serves as a
sacrificial block, aiding the development of designed nanostructures. In the
second example, conductive nanoribbons of poly(n-hexylthiophene) surrounded
by a matrix of organic polymers are formed from block copolymers prepared by
ATRP. The third example describes an inorganic-organic hybrid system consisting of
hard nanocolloidal silica particles (
20 nm) grafted by
ATRP with well-defined polystyrene-poly(benzyl acrylate) block copolymer chains
(
1000 chains per particle). Silica cores in this system are surrounded by
a rigid polystyrene inner shell and softer polyacrylate outer shell.
82.35.-x - Polymers: properties; reactions; polymerization.
81.07.-b - Nanoscale materials and structures: fabrication and characterization.
83.80.Uv - Block copolymers.
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag 2003
