Stefan Reinicke

Facile Access to Hydroxy-Functional Core–Shell Microspheres via Grafting of Ethylene Oxide by Anionic Ring-Opening Polymerization

We present a facile access route to hydroxy-functional narrow disperse microspheres of well-defined grafting density (GD). Ethylene oxide has been grafted from highly crosslinked poly(divinyl benzene) microspheres by anionic ring-opening polymerization using sec-butyllithium as activator together with the phosphazene base t-BuP(4) . Initially, core microspheres have been prepared by precipitation polymerization utilizing divinyl benzene (DVB, 80 wt.-%). The grafting of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) from the surface resulted in the formation of functional core-shell microspheres with hydroxy-terminal end groups. The number average particle diameter of the grafted microspheres was 3.6 µm and the particle weight increased by 5.7%. The microspheres were characterized by SEM, FT-IR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and fluorescence microscopy. The surface GD (determined via two methods) was 1.65 ± 0.06 and 2.09 ± 0.08 chains · nm(-2) , respectively.

New Amphiphilic Nanostructures Based on Block Terpolymers Made By Anionic Polymerization

Anionic polymerization is the method of choice to synthesize linear and miktoarm-star block copolymers with high molecular weights and very narrow molecular weight distributions. We report on the synthesis of some new block co- and terpolymers and on the self-organized nanostructures they form in the bulk and in solution. Bulk structures are used as novel stimuli-sensitive membranes, whereas solution structures are soft nanoparticles, which have either a compartmentalized core or corona: new multicompartment-core micelles, Janus nanoparticles and cylinders with multicompartment corona.