Introduction of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) molecules into polymer materials can result in novel smart materials with AIE characteristics, expanding their scope of applications. Haddleton group is expert in producing well defined polymers with narrow dispersity and high end-group fidelity via Cu(0)-mediated reversible-deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP). In this contribution, the initiator tetraphenylethene bromoisobutyrate (TPE-BIB) is first synthesized, fully characterized and then utilized for the synthesis of a series of polyacrylate-based homopolymers and block copolymers bearing TPE moieties with different molecular weights and architectures via Cu(0)-RDRP. All the TPE-terminated polymers exhibited AIE behavior. Poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA) polymers reached quantitive conversion of &gt;99 % in less than 2 hours with dispersity as low as 1.18. Deprotection of hydrophobic poly(tert-butyl acrylate) (P<i>t</i>BA) gave access to amphiphilic poly(acrylic acid) (PAA). Self-assembly of TPE-PAA in pure deionized water resulted in emission due to exhibiting AIE performance of the aggregation of hydrophobic TPE core. The fluorescence intensity of the solution is directly related to the molecular weights of the polymer and the size of formed micelles. All polymers are fully characterized by NMR, size exclusion chromatography (SEC), and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass<i> </i>spectroscopy (MALDI-TOF-MS) techniques. Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) is used to evaluate the size of the self-assembled aggregates in solution and scanning electron microscope (SEM) to explore their morphology. Block copolymerization and application investigations of these novel AIE-active polymers in biomedical areas, such as bioimaging, are currently underway.

Versatile synthesis of well-defined AIE-active polymers via Cu(0)-mediated RDRP

2019 Fall National Meeting

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