Benzyl methacrylate (BzMA) is polymerised via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) chemistry under alcoholic dispersion polymerization conditions in ethanol using a poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDMA) chain transfer agent (CTA) at 70�C. Polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) can lead to formation of either spherical micelles, worm-like micelles or vesicles. The preferred morphology depends on the molecular curvature of the PDMA-PBzMA diblock copolymer chains. 1H NMR confirms that high monomer conversions are achieved within 24 h (>99%), THF GPC analyses indicate relatively low polydispersities (Mw/Mn< 1.30) for the diblock copolymers, suggesting good pseudo-living character. When transferred from ethanol to water, the nanoparticles remain colloidally stable and acquire appreciable cationic character, as judged by DLS and aqueous electrophoresis studies, respectively. Using a relatively long PDMA CTA allows near-monodisperse spherical micelles with tunable diameters from 30 to 100 nm to be prepared simply by varying the target degree of polymerization of the core-forming PBzMA block.

Efficient synthesis of amine-functional diblock copolymer nanoparticles via RAFT dispersion polymerization of benzyl methacrylate in alcoholic media

245th National Meeting (2013)

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