RAFT Dispersion Alternating Copolymerization of Styrene with N-Phenylmaleimide: Morphology Control and Application as an Aqueous Foam Stabilizer.

ABSTRACT: We report a new nonaqueous polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) formulation based on the reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) dispersion alternating copolymerization of styrene with N-phenylmaleimide using a nonionic poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide) stabilizer in a 50/50 w/w ethanol/methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) mixture. The MEK cosolvent is significantly less toxic than the 1,4-dioxane cosolvent reported previously [Yang P.; Macromolecules2013, 46, 8545-8556]. The core-forming alternating copolymer block has a relatively high glass transition temperature (T_g), which leads to vesicular morphologies being observed during PISA, as well as the more typical sphere and worm phases. Each of these copolymer morphologies has been characteriz

SUBMITTER: Yang P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5041161 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature