1. Thiol-ene reaction as tool for crosslinking of polynorbornene micelles in the nanoscale
- Author
-
Thomas Bauer, Barbara Rupp, and Christian Slugovc
- Subjects
chemistry.chemical_classification ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Polymerization ,chemistry ,Thiol-ene reaction ,Polymer chemistry ,Copolymer ,Ring-opening metathesis polymerisation ,Polymer ,Pentaerythritol ,Micelle ,Ene reaction - Abstract
The thiol-ene reaction is a established photoreaction of multifunctional thiols and enes. Virtually any type of ene will participate in a free radical polymerisation process with a thiol. An advantage over many other photochemical reactions is that the reaction proceeds almost as rapidly in ambient conditions as in inert atmosphere. In this work we introduce the UV-crosslinking of polynorbornenes made by ring opening metathesis polymerization making use of the residual double bond in the polymer backbone. The crosslinking experiments were done in thin films and were followed by FTIR measurements, to proof the accessibility of double-bonds in the polymers for the addition of the thiols. As a result of these pre-experiments we created flexible and light transmitting films. To further increase the scope of this reaction, amphiphilic block copolymers were prepared and used to form block copolymer micelles in a selective solvent, which were subsequently crosslinked with pentaerythritol tetra(3-mercaptopropionate) (PETMP). FT-IR, DLS and SEM-measurements were used to prove the successful crosslinking and thus nanoparticle formation.
- Published
- 2009