Block Random Copolymers of Styrene and Acrylic Acid: Synthesis and Properties

Regularities of the synthesis of triblock random copolymers based on styrene and acrylic acid in the presence of styrene-acrylic acid different composition copolymers containing a tritiocarbonate group in DMF and 1,4-dioxane are studied. It is shown that the composition of copolymer reversible chain transfer agents affects the chain microstructure of the central block of the resulting copolymer. The structure and physicochemical properties of the synthesized block random copolymers are studied by AFM, turbidimetric titration, and contact angle measurements. It is demonstrated that the properties of block copolymers (aggregate stability with worsening of the thermodynamic quality of the solvent, water contact angle of the polymer film) are determined by the chemical composition of the central block, the length of which significantly exceeds the length of the end blocks. At the same time, with a certain difference in the central and end blocks in the composition of the copolymers, their microphase segregation in the solution and at the interface is possible.