Synthesis of Macrocyclic Copolymer Brushes and Their Self-Assembly into Supramolecular Tubes
Michel Schappacher and
Alain Deffieux*
We report on an efficient route to design large macrocyclic polymers of controlled molar mass and narrow dispersity. The strategy is based on the synthesis of a triblock copolymer ABC, in which the long central block B is extended by two short A and C sequences bearing reactive antagonist functions. When reacted under highly dilute conditions, this precursor produces the corresponding macrocycle by intramolecular coupling of the A and C blocks. Chloroethyl vinyl ether was selected as the monomer for the central block B, because it can be readily derivatized into brushlike polymers by a grafting process. The corresponding macrocyclic brushes were decorated with polystyrene or randomly distributed polystyrene and polyisoprene branches. In a selective solvent for the polyisoprene branches, the macrocyclic brushes self-assemble into cylindrical tubes of up to 700 nanometers.
CNRS, Université Bordeaux 1, Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie et Physique de Bordeaux (ENSCPB), Laboratoirede Chimie des Polymères Organiques, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5629, 16 Avenue Pey Berland, 33607 Pessac cedex, France.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: deffieux{at}enscpb.fr
