Well-Defined Thermoresponsive Polymethacrylamide Copolymers with Ester Pendent Groups through One-Pot Statistical Postpolymerization Modification of Poly(2-Isopropenyl-2-Oxazoline) with Multiple Carboxylic Acids

Thermoresponsive polymers that undergo a solubility phase transition in water are important as basis for the development for a wide variety of responsive and smart materials. In this study, the synthesis of thermoresponsive copolymers is demonstrated by the straightforward one-pot statistical postpolymerization modification of well-defined poly(2-isopropenyl-2-oxazoline) (PiPOx) by ring-opening reaction with multiple carboxylic acids. The reactions are carried out using dual, triple, and quadruple mixtures of up to four different aliphatic carboxylic acids. The cloud point temperatures of the resulting polymethacrylamide copolymers with ester pendent groups can be finely tuned by adjusting the feed ratio and the hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance of the acids that are used for the ring-opening modification of PiPOx. (c) 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019, 57, 360-366