Issue 41, 2023

Synthesis and characterization of uniform OCL-OEG block cooligomers

Abstract

Block copolymers are an interesting class of materials, offering the opportunity to form nanostructured morphologies, making them suitable for a broad range of applications in nanotechnology, medicine, or biotechnology. Especially for the pharmaceutical sector, a uniform structure and a distinct structure–property relationship is desirable to manufacture highly reproducible and tailor-made materials. Herein, we report the synthesis and characterization of uniform (Đ = 1.01) oligo(ε-caprolactone)-oligo(ethylene glycol) (OCL-OEG) block co-oligomers (BCOs). Three different BCOs, varying in the length of the hydrophobic caprolactone segment, were obtained via Steglich esterification of the corresponding homo oligomers. A clear dispersity and composition dependent structure–property relationship based on the thermal properties is observed, compared to identical structures similar in Mn and dispersities of Đ = 1.06, obtained via ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of ε-caprolactone. In addition, increased long-range-order distances L0 with increasing dispersity of the BCOs are found for the formed morphologies after solvent vapor annealing (SVA). These results highlight the importance of uniform structures for a better understanding of the structure–property relationship of block copolymers.

Graphical abstract: Synthesis and characterization of uniform OCL-OEG block cooligomers

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
15 Sep 2023
Accepted
04 Oct 2023
First published
05 Oct 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Polym. Chem., 2023,14, 4765-4773

Synthesis and characterization of uniform OCL-OEG block cooligomers

P. Bohn, V. Hirschberg, S. Buchheiser, D. Moatsou, H. Nirschl and M. A. R. Meier, Polym. Chem., 2023, 14, 4765 DOI: 10.1039/D3PY01052J

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