Preparation and Characterization of Poly (vinylbenzyl chloride)-<i>b</i>-poly (lactide) Copolymers via Nitroxide-Mediated Controlled Radical and Ring-Opening Polymerization

Abstract

Hydroxyl-terminated poly(vinylbenzyl chloride) (PVBCOH) were synthesized using nitroxide-mediated controlled radical polymerization. Then, PVBCOH was used as a macro-initiator for ring-opening polymerization of lactide (LA) in the presence of stannous octanoate (Sn(Oct)2) as a catalyst. The structures, molecular weights and polydispersity index (PDI) of PVBCOH and PVBC-b-PLA were characterized by 1H-NMR, and GPC, respectively. The results indicated that PDI of PVBCOH and PVBC-b-PLA was 1.63 and 1.27, respectively. Moreover, the molecular weight and PDI of PVBCOH and PVBC-b-PLA could be well tuned by changing monomer-to-initiator ratio.