The spontaneous zwitterionic copolymerization (SZWIP) is a relatively unknown polymerization technique, which provides access to (predominantly) alternating copolymers. Despite its versatility and the availability of a large range of compatible monomers it has only recently gained renewed attention. The SZWIP is believed to occur via a zwitterionic intermediate that is formed upon the reaction of an electrophilic (ME) and nucleophilic monomer (MN) without the addition of a catalyst or initiator. Depending on the monomers chosen the SZWIP enables the straightforward synthesis of different degradable polymers such as poly(amino ester)s, poly(ester amide)s and poly(phosphoester)s. Motivated by literature from the 1970s we started to explore the potential of the SZWIP for the synthesis of “(bio)degradable poly(2-oxazoline)s”. In this presentation, our latest efforts in the synthesis of functional polymers based on SZWIP of cyclic imino ethers (CIEs) and acrylic acid will be discussed (Figure 1). We found that under optimal conditions telechelic alternating oligomers can be prepared, which can be employed as macromonomers in redox-initiated RAFT polymerisations. The modularity and functionality of the NPAE macromonomers provide access to dual responsive comb polymers of varying hydrophilicity and enables their post-polymerisation modification via amidation reactions. Moreover, we carefully identified the different species obtained by the SZWIP and based on organic model compounds evaluated their contribution to the polymer properties.

New stimuli-responsive materials via the Spontaneous Zwitterionic Copolymerisation (SZWIP) of 2-oxazolines

2019 Spring National Meeting

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