Abstract
A diblock copolymer consisting of tetrahydropyranyl acrylate (THPA) as a pH‐deprotectable block, and a permanently hydrophobic block, methyl acrylate, was synthesized by RAFT polymerization using a quaternary amine functionalized, hydrophilic, RAFT chain transfer agent. The polymer self‐assembled in water to form vesicles with Dh = 130 nm, as determined by DLS and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy. Acid catalyzed deprotection of the THPA units to yield acrylic acid resulted in a vesicle to micelle morphology transition, as evidenced by the decrease in hydrodynamic diameter to Dh = 19 nm and the observation of micelles by dry state transmission electron microscopy. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014, 52, 3026–3031
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 3026-3031 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Journal of Polymer Science Part a-Polymer Chemistry |
Volume | 52 |
Issue number | 21 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 16 Aug 2014 |
Keywords
- diblock
- copolymer
- micelle
- morphology
- pH-responsive
- RAFT
- transition
- vesicle