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AROMA: Anionic ring-opening monomer addition of allyl glycidyl ether to methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) for the synthesis of sequence-controlled polymers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 May 2023

Sven Schneider
Affiliation:
Institute for Biological Interfaces 3 (IBG-3), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany
Benedikt L. Schwalm
Affiliation:
Institute for Biological Interfaces 3 (IBG-3), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany
Patrick Theato*
Affiliation:
Institute for Biological Interfaces 3 (IBG-3), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany Institute for Chemical Technology and Polymer Chemistry (ITCP), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany
*
Corresponding author: Patrick Theato; Email: patrick.theato@kit.edu
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Abstract

Herein, a new method to synthesise epoxide-based sequence-controlled polymers via anionic ring-opening monomer addition, a form of anionic ring-opening polymerisation, is presented. This technique allows in combination with post-polymerisation modification (PPM) reactions for the successful preparation of modified mPEG-b-oligo(allyl glycidyl ether) featuring the incorporation of one repeating unit on average at a time. Due to the possible introduction of a vast variety of molecules to the polymeric system via PPM reactions, a multitude of advanced functional polymeric materials can be generated. This, in combination with the chain extension reactions, allows for the synthesis of well-controlled and programmable architectures with particular properties. The structure of the sequence-controlled polymer was confirmed via 1H NMR spectroscopy, size exclusion chromatography, attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry.

Information

Type
Research Article
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press
Figure 0

Scheme 1. The overall synthetic scheme of the anionic ring-opening monomer addition of AGE to mPEG-1900 to synthesise sequence-controlled polymers. The individual stpng of chain extension (I., III., and V.) and post-polymerisation modification (II., IV., and VI.) reactions are displayed.

Figure 1

Table 1. Overview of all conducted reactions, including equivalents, reaction time, temperature, molar mass, dispersity, and the theoretical average repeating unit.

Figure 2

Figure 1. (a) Size exclusion chromatogram and (b) 1H NMR spectrum (solvent: CDCl3) of P1.

Figure 3

Figure 2. Kinetic study of the polymerisation of AGE using non-treated (K1; blue) and dried (K2; black) mPEG-1900.

Figure 4

Figure 3. (a) Size exclusion chromatogram after the first chain extension (CE-1) of mPEG-1900 with AGE. (b) 1H NMR spectrum of the AGE chain-extended mPEG-1900. The new signals between 5.00 and 6.00 ppm confirm a successful CE. Solvent: CDCl3. (c) Differential scanning calorimetry thermogram (heating curve; 2. cycle) of AGE chain-extended mPEG with a visible Tm at 54.2°C. (d) Attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectrum of mPEG-1900 (black) and CE-1 (blue). After the CE, a new signal at 1,645/cm appears, which could be assigned to the C=C double bond of the AGE.

Figure 5

Figure 4. (a) Size exclusion chromatogram after the second chain extension (CE-2). After the extension, a shift to higher molar masses is visible. (b) 1H NMR spectrum of the twice chain-extended mPEG-1900. Again, the signals of the double bond between 5.00 and 6.00 ppm are visible, confirming a successful CE. (c) Differential scanning calorimetry thermogram (heating curve; 2. Cycle) of twice chain-extended mPEG-1900 with a visible Tm at 53°C. (d) Attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectrum of once modified mPEG-1900 (PPM-1; violet) and twice chain-extended mPEG-1900 (CE-2; red). After the CE, a new signal at 1,645/cm appears, which could be assigned to the C=C double bond of the AGE.

Figure 6

Figure 5. (a) Size exclusion chromatogram after the first modification of chain-extended mPEG-1900 (PPM-1, violet). After the modification, a shift to higher molar masses is visible in comparison to the previous polymer (CE-1; blue). (b) 1H NMR spectrum of chain-extended mPEG-1900 after the thiol-ene reaction with 1-dodecanethiol. After the reaction, the signals of the double bond between 5.00 and 6.00 ppm disappeared and the thiol signals (e.g., around 0.8 ppm) appeared, confirming a successful modification reaction. Solvent: CDCl3. (c) Differential scanning calorimetry thermogram (heating curve; 2. cycle) of 1-dodecanethiol modified chain-extended mPEG-1900 with a visible Tm at 55.2°C. (d) Attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectrum of once chain-extended mPEG-1900 (CE-1; blue) and the 1-dedcanthiol modified polymer (PPM-1; violet). After the modification, the signal at 1,645/cm disappeared, which confirms a successful modification.

Figure 7

Figure 6. (a) Size exclusion chromatogram after the second modification of chain-extended mPEG-1900 (PPM-2, green). After the modification, a shift to higher molar masses is visible in comparison to the previous polymer (CE-2; red). (b) 1H NMR spectrum of twice chain-extended mPEG-1900 after the thiol-ene reaction with benzylthiol. After the reaction, the signals of the double bond between 5.00 and 6.00 ppm disappeared and the thiol signals (e.g., around 7.30 ppm) appeared, confirming a successful modification reaction. Solvent: CDCl3.

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