Polymer Bulletin, Vol.46, No.4, 291-297, 2001
Synthesis of an amphiphilic conjugated polymer through block copolymerization of phenylacetylene and (p-trityloxycarbonylphenyl)acetylene and the subsequent hydrolysis
The polymerization of (p-trityloxycarbonylphenyl)acetylene (p-TrOCOPA) with [(nbd)RhCl](2)/Ph2C=C(Ph)Li/Ph3P ternary catalyst proceeded in a living fashion to provide polymer with low polydispersity index (M-w/M-n similar to1.1) in good yield. Block copolymerizations of p-TrOCOPA with phenylacetylene (PA) selectively formed the corresponding block copolymers regardless of the order of monomer addition. The hydrolysis of the homo- and block copolymers of p-TrOCOPA catalyzed by hydrochloric acid gave carboxyl-containing hydrophilic homopolymer and amphiphilic block copolymers, respectively. The amphiphilic block copolymer formed micelles in solution and monomolecular membrane at the air-water interface.