Stimuli-responsive polymers are materials that dramatically change properties such as solubility and viscosity in response to a small change in external triggers such as temperature or pH. Poly((2-dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) or PDMAEMA is a dually responsive polymer where the stimuli-responsive properties depend both on chemical composition and chain architecture. A series of (co)polymers with PDMAEMA were synthesized using ARGET ATRP (activators regenerated by electron transfer atom transfer radical polymerization) to generate polymers with controlled molecular weight and molecular weight distribution. The stimuli-responsive properties of various polymer architectures, including linear blocks, star copolymers, and branched or comb copolymers, have been tested to determine the structure-property relationships as a function of polymer architecture. Stimuli-responsive properties include solubility, viscosity, viscoelasticity, and interfacial activity. Polymer properties depend on temperature, pH, polymer concentration, ionic strength, as well as polymer composition and architecture. Tuning the stimuli-responsive properties by changing polymer structure is needed to optimize properties for applications ranging from architectural coatings, or paints, primers, and stains, to non-viral gene delivery.

Controlled polymer architecture to optimize stimuli-responsive properties for architectural coatings

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