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Well-defined poly(ether sulfone)-b-polylactide: synthesis and microphase separation behavior

Polymer Journal volume 52, pages 111–118 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

We investigated the microphase separation behavior of well-defined poly(arylene ether sulfone)-b-polylactide (PES-b-PLA) diblock copolymers. PES was synthesized by the nucleophilic aromatic substitution polymerization of 4-fluoro-4′-hydroxydiphenyl sulfone potassium salt in the presence of an allyl-functionalized initiator, which follows a chain growth condensation polymerization mechanism. A hydroxyl group installed via a thiol-ene reaction was utilized as the initiating site for the ring opening polymerization of d,l-lactide, producing the target polymer. The polymers were further purified by preparative size-exclusion chromatography and analyzed by small-angle X-ray scattering with temperature variations from room temperature to 150 °C. The PES block was glassy in the employed temperature range, but the PLA chains provided sufficient mobility for ordering of the block copolymer when PES was the minor fraction. An order-disorder transition (ODT) with changing temperature could not be located because PLA was not stable above 170 °C. From the degree of polymerization values of the polymers near the ODT, the Flory–Huggins interaction parameter, χ, could be roughly estimated as 0.12 at 150 °C. This high χ value suggests that engineering plastic-containing block copolymers could be useful in advanced lithographic and filtration applications.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No. 2018R1A5A1025208) and the Climate Change Research Hub of KAIST (Grant No. N01140053). JL and MS also acknowledge financial support from the BK21Plus Program through the NRF funded by the Ministry of Education of Korea. The experiments at Pohang Accelerator Laboratory (PAL) were supported in part by the Ministry of Science and ICT of Korea and POSTECH. TEM imaging was conducted at the Korea National NanoFab Center, which is supported by the Nano Material Technology Development Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (2009–0082580).

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Jinhee Lee, Jongmin Park

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Nanoscience and Technology, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea

    Jinhee Lee & Myungeun Seo

  2. Department of Chemistry, KAIST, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea

    Jongmin Park & Myungeun Seo

  3. KAIST Institute for the Nanocentury, KAIST, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea

    Myungeun Seo

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  1. Jinhee Lee
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Correspondence to Myungeun Seo.

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Lee, J., Park, J. & Seo, M. Well-defined poly(ether sulfone)-b-polylactide: synthesis and microphase separation behavior. Polym J 52, 111–118 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41428-019-0268-2

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