Precise Synthesis of Novel Star-Branched Polymers Containing Reactive Poly(1,4-divinylbenzene) Arm(s) by Linking Reaction of Living Anionic Poly(1,4-divinylbenzene) with Chain-(α-Phenyl acrylate)-Functionalized Polymers

We have synthesized several star-branched polymers having poly­(1,4-divinylbenzene) (PDVB) segment(s) by quantitatively linking the 1,1-diphenylethylene-stabilized living anionic PDVB with the chain-(α-phenyl acrylate)-functionalized polymers. The synthesized polymers were the A3 regular star PDVB, A2B, AB2, ABC, ABCD, and A4B μ-star polymers. The A arm is the PDVB segment, while the B, C, or D arm is either a polystyrene, poly­(methyl methacrylate), poly­(α-methylstyrene), or poly­(2-vinylpyridine) segment. These polymers are the first successful highly reactive PDVB-containing well-defined star-branched polymers, whose pendant vinyl groups are capable of undergoing various postfunctionalization reactions to introduce additional functionalities.