Sythesis and characterization of three-armded [P(HEMA-G-PCL)]3 graft copolymers obtined by one.pot raft and rop

Abstract

Branched copolymers are a special class of polymeric materials in which are reflected the combined effects of polymer segments and architectural constraints of the branched architecture. In this work, three-armed graft copolymers, poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate-graft-poly(caprolactone), [P(HEMA-g-PCL)]3, were synthesized by combination of reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) and ring opening polymerization (ROP) mechanisms in a onepot/one-step protocol. The resulting macromolecules were characterized by 1H nuclear magnetic ressonance (NMR), size exclusion chromatography (SEC), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The preliminary results indicate the success of the methodology and are in agreement with literature reports.