Journal of Polymer Science Part A: Polymer Chemistry, Vol.50, No.3, 488-494, 2012
Synthesis of a "molecular rope curtain": Preparation and characterization of a sliding graft copolymer with grafted poly(ethylene glycol) side chains by the "grafting onto" strategy
A sliding graft copolymer (SGC) with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) side chains was prepared by ester formation between terminal carboxyl groups of oxidized PEG methyl ether with molecular weight of 2000 (mPEG2000-COOH) and hydroxyl groups of a polyrotaxane consisting of PEG and cyclodextrins (CDs). Formation of the SGC structure was confirmed by 1H NMR, attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transformed infrared, and gel permeation chromatography. The SGC was soluble in good solvents of PEG and insoluble in poor solvents of PEG. Estimation of the number of grafted mPEG chains suggested a rope-curtain like structure, in which an mPEG chain is connected to each CD ring. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 50: 488-494, 2012
Keywords:cyclodextrins;graft copolymers;"grafting onto" strategy;polyrotaxanes;supramolecular structures