Strategies for covalent multilayer growth. 1. Polymer design and characterization

We describe the synthesis and characterization of several maleimide-vinyl ether and maleimide-primary alkene alternating copolymers capable of being incorporated into covalently bound multilayer assemblies. Synthetic control over the monomer substituents allows substantial versatility in the choice of layer formation chemistry and in polymer properties. We report on the copolymerization of substituted allyl-, allyloxy-, vinyl-, and vinyloxy- monomers with a variety of N-substituted maleimides. The substituted maleimides were prepared by reaction of maleic anhydride with selected aromatic amines. Polymerization yields are typically in the range of 75-95% consumption of the monomers. H-1 NMR, FTIR, and UV-visible spectroscopies were used to characterize the polymers.