Synthesis of Poly(glycidyl methacrylate)‐<i>block</i>‐Poly(pentafluorostyrene) by RAFT: Precursor to Novel Amphiphilic Poly(glyceryl methacrylate)‐<i>block</i>‐Poly(pentafluorostyrene)

Abstract

Abstract Poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) was synthesized by the RAFT method in the presence of 2‐cyanoprop‐2‐yl dithiobenzoate (CPDB) chain transfer agent using different [GMA]/[CPDB] molar ratios. The living radical polymerization resulted in controlled molecular weights and narrow polydispersity indices ( PDI ) of ≈1.1. The polymerization of pentafluorostyrene (PFS) with PGMA as the macro‐RAFT agent yielded narrow PDI s of ≤1.2 at 60 °C and ≤1.5 at 80 °C. The epoxy groups of the PGMA block were hydrolyzed to obtain novel amphiphilic copolymer, poly(glyceryl methacrylate)‐ block ‐poly(pentafluorostyrene) [PGMA(OH)‐ b ‐PPFS]. The PGMA epoxy group hydrolysis was confirmed by 1 H NMR and FTIR spectroscopy. DSC investigation revealed that the PGMA‐ b ‐PPFS polymer was amorphous while the PGMA(OH)‐ b ‐PPFS displayed a high degree of crystallinity. magnified image