Abstract
A straightforward strategy for the synthesis of ring-based homo/co/terpolymers of styrene, isoprene and 2-vinyl pyridine, will be discussed. The general approach involves the synthesis of the corresponding OH-terminated precursors (linears and stars), transformation of the OH to alkyne groups, by esterification with 4-pentynoic acid and subsequent intramolecular ring closure using Glaser coupling under high dilution conditions. In addition, by combining polyhomologation, Diels-Alder and “click” chemistry, we were able to synthesize polyethylene-based ring and tadpole homo/copolymers. Representative structures are given in Scheme 1.
Preliminary TEM results showed the tremendous influence of the structure on the microphase separation of the ring co/terpolymers.