Synthesis, Characterization and Structure Properties of Biobased Hybrid Copolymers Consisting of Polydiene and Polypeptide Segments

Novel hybrid materials of the PB-b-P(o-Bn-L-Tyr) and PI-b-P(o-Bn-L-Tyr) type (where PB: 1,4/1,2-poly(butadiene), PI: 3,4/1,2/1,4-poly(isoprene) and P(o-Bn-L-Tyr): poly(ortho-benzyl-L-tyrosine)) were synthesized through anionic and ring-opening polymerization under high-vacuum techniques. All final materials were molecularly characterized through infrared spectroscopy (IR) and proton and carbon nuclear magnetic resonance (H-1-NMR, C-13-NMR) in order to confirm the successful synthesis and the polydiene microstructure content. The stereochemical behavior of secondary structures (alpha-helices and beta-sheets) of the polypeptide segments combined with the different polydiene microstructures was also studied. The influence of the alpha-helices and beta-sheets, as well as the polydiene chain conformations on the thermal properties (glass transition temperatures, thermal stability, alpha- and beta-relaxation) of the present biobased hybrid copolymers, was investigated through differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and dielectric spectroscopy (DS). The obtained morphologies in thin films for all the synthesized materials via atomic force microscopy (AFM) indicated the formation of polypeptide fibrils in the polydiene matrix.

Automated summary

Novel hybrid materials of the PB-b-P(o-Bn-L-Tyr) and PI-b-P(o-Bn-L-Tyr) type were synthesized under high-vacuum techniques and molecularly characterized to confirm successful synthesis and structure content. The study investigated the behavior of polypeptide segments and their influence on thermal properties, such as glass transition temperatures and thermal stability, in the biobased hybrid copolymers. Morphologies in thin films showed the formation of polypeptide fibrils in the polydiene matrix, as observed through atomic force microscopy (AFM).