Synthesis of Amphiphilic Poly(ethylene oxide‐co‐glycidol)‐graft‐polyacrylonitrile Brush Copolymers and their Self‐assembly in Aqueous Media

Abstract

An amphiphilic copolymer brush poly(ethylene oxide‐co‐glycidol)‐graft‐polyacrylonitrile [poly(EO‐co‐Gly)‐g‐PAN], is successfully prepared for the first time by a combination of anionic polymerization and redox free radical polymerization. The final products and intermediates are characterized by NMR and GPC. Aggregates made from the brush copolymers, poly(EO‐co‐Gly)‐g‐PAN, with a long hydrophobic graft length in water are studied by TEM and DLS. The effects of hydrophobic graft length and water content on the morphologies are discussed. Some rare morphologies of aggregates are observed, such as lamellae, bicontinuous networks, bowls or nanosheets, and large compound rods with a brittleness that can be ascribed to the orientation of high content semi‐crystalline PAN segments.

Quantification of copolymer composition (methyl acrylate and itaconic acid) in polyacrylonitrile carbon-fiber precursors by FTIR-spectroscopy

“…Most frequently, NMR spectroscopy, usually 1 H and 13 C (and, recently, solid-state techniques), is applied till date. [35][36][37][38][39] However, this approach is expensive and time-intensive, requires highly skilled personnel, and not very suitable for the rapid analysis of large numbers of samples. Alternatively, the control of the copolymer production is frequently based on the functional organic analysis using titrimetry.…”

Centrifugal melt spinning of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)/triacontene copolymer fibres

“…This could explain the brittle tensile fractures observed in the SEM micrographs of the fibres. It is hypothesised that these lateral crystals do not contribute to the tensile strength and elasticity associated with crystallised regions in long linear chains [41].…”