Novel perfluorocyclobutyl aryl ether-based well-defined amphiphilic block copolymer

A series of fluorine‐containing amphiphilic diblock copolymers comprising hydrophobic poly(p‐(2‐(p‐tolyloxy)perfluorocyclobutoxy)phenyl methacrylate) (PTPFCBPMA) and hydrophilic poly(2‐(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDEAEMA) segments were synthesized via successive reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerizations. RAFT homopolymerization of p‐(2‐(p‐tolyloxy)perfluorocyclobutoxy)phenyl methacrylate was first initiated by 2,2′‐azobisisobutyronitrile using cumyl dithiobenzoate as chain transfer agent, and the results show that the procedure was conducted in a controlled way as confirmed by the fact that the number‐average molecular weights increased linearly with the conversions of the monomer while the polydispersity indices kept below 1.30. Dithiobenzoate‐capped PTPFCHPMA homopolymer was then used as macro‐RAFT agent to mediate RAFT polymerization of 2‐(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate, which afforded PTPFCBPMA‐b‐PDEAEMA amphiphilic diblock copolymers with different block lengths and narrow molecular weight distributions (Mw/Mn ≤ 1.28). The critical micelle concentrations of the obtained amphiphilic diblock copolymers were determined by fluorescence spectroscopy technique using N‐phenyl‐1‐naphthylamine as probe. The morphology and size of the formed micelles were investigated by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering, respectively. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011 A series of fluorine‐containing poly(p‐(2‐(p‐tolyloxy)perfluorocyclobutoxy)phenyl methacrylate)‐b‐poly(2‐(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate)PTPFCBPMA‐b‐PDEAEMA amphiphilic block copolymers were synthesized via sequential reversible addition fragmentation chain transferRAFT polymerization of p‐(2‐(p‐tolyloxy)perfluorocyclobutoxy)phenyl methacrylate and 2‐(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate,DEAEMA and they could aggregate to form spherical large compound micelles in neutral surroundings.