Surface grafted poly(ε-caprolactone) prepared using organocatalysed ring-opening polymerisation followed by SI-ATRP

The controlled ring-opening polymerisation (ROP) of an ε-caprolactone derivative that contains an ATRP initiator pendant to the ring, γ-(2-bromo-2-methyl propionyl)-ε-caprolactone (γ-BMPCL), and its copolymerisation with ε-caprolactone (CL) is reported. Functional PCL copolymers that contained pendant ATRP initiators were obtained with higher than previously reported molecular weights using diphenyl phosphate (DPP) as the catalyst at room temperature. Surface-initiated ATRP grafting of oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate was successfully carried out on the surface of two dimensional (2D) substrates comprising thin films of a functional PCL copolymer.