TY  - JOUR
A1  - Herfurth, Christoph
A1  - de Molina, Paula Malo
A1  - Wieland, Christoph
A1  - Rogers, Sarah
A1  - Gradzielski, Michael
A1  - Laschewsky, André
T1  - One-step RAFT synthesis of well-defined amphiphilic star polymers and their self-assembly in aqueous solution
T2  - Polymer Chemistry
N2  - Multifunctional chain transfer agents for RAFT polymerisation were designed for the one-step synthesis of amphiphilic star polymers. Thus, hydrophobically end-capped 3- and 4-arm star polymers, as well as linear ones for reference, were made of the hydrophilic monomer N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMA) in high yield with molar masses up to 150 000 g mol(-1), narrow molar mass distribution (PDI <= 1.2) and high end group functionality (similar to 90%). The associative telechelic polymers form transient networks of interconnected aggregates in aqueous solution, thus acting as efficient viscosity enhancers and rheology modifiers, eventually forming hydrogels. The combination of dynamic light scattering (DLS), small angle neutron scattering (SANS) and rheology experiments revealed that several molecular parameters control the structure and therefore the physical properties of the aggregates. In addition to the size of the hydrophilic block (maximum length for connection) and the length of the hydrophobic alkyl chain ends (stickiness), the number of arms (functionality) proved to be a key parameter.
Y1  - 2012
UR  - https://publishup.uni-potsdam.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/36318
SN  - 1759-9954
VL  - 3
IS  - 6
SP  - 1606
EP  - 1617
PB  - Royal Society of Chemistry
CY  - Cambridge
ER  -