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Synthesis and properties of penta-responsive ABC star quaterpolymers

Polymer Journal volume 52, pages 153–163 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

The controlled synthesis of smart multicomponent copolymers can afford new insight into structure-property correlations. Given the lack of CO2 and O2 dual-gas-responsive star polymers, this study is focused on the facile synthesis and properties of multiresponsive ABC star quaterpolymers. The “core-first” strategy was adopted to generate P(ATL-co-NIPAM)-arm-PCL-arm-PDPA stars, followed by tandem amine-thiol-ene conjugation to construct the desired stars bearing O2-/oxidation-responsive and hydrogen bond-switchable Y junctions. Upon composition change, pH switching, gas bubbling and oxidation, the copolymer solution tended to show different cloud points. Furthermore, the sizes and morphologies of copolymer assemblies were strongly dependent on chemical composition and thermal, pH, CO2, O2 and oxidative stimuli, and abundant morphologies such as large compound micelles, hyperbranched micelles, disk-like micelles, spindle-like micelles, ellipsoidal micelles, and multicompartment vesicles could be formed under distinct conditions. Our study affords a promising yet straightforward approach to construct multicomponent miktoarm star polymer, and the composition-/stimuli-dependent thermoresponsive and aggregation behaviors of these polymers pave the way for multipurpose applications.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 21971181, 21774085, and 21474070) and the Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development (PAPD) of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions.

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Xiaoqi Zhao, Jian Zhang

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Suzhou Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Design and Precision Synthesis, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Polymer Design and Application, State and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China

    Xiaoqi Zhao, Jian Zhang & Youliang Zhao

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  1. Xiaoqi Zhao
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Correspondence to Youliang Zhao.

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Zhao, X., Zhang, J. & Zhao, Y. Synthesis and properties of penta-responsive ABC star quaterpolymers. Polym J 52, 153–163 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41428-019-0274-4

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