Structural and Thermal Studies of Fluorescein and Rhodamin6G Grafted Diblock Copolymers

The ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of tetrahydrofuran (THF) and epsilon-caprolactone (CL) was performed at 160 degrees C for 2 h under N-2 ambiance using two different dyes such as fluorescein (Flur) and rhodamin6G (R6G) as a novel initiator. The structure of the dye-centered diblock copolymers was confirmed by analyzing the NMR spectra. The melt transition temperature and thermal stability of the polymers were determined by DSC and TGA. The FT-IR spectra indicated the functional groups present in the dye grafted homopolymer and diblock copolymers. The increase in molecular weight (M-w) of the dye-centered diblock copolymer was confirmed by the GPC measurement. The conjugation of dye with the polymer backbone was carried out by a single-step method without using any hazardous solvents.

Automated summary

The study successfully polymerized THF and epsilon-caprolactone using fluorescein and rhodamin6G as initiators at 160 degrees C under N-2 ambiance, resulting in dye-centered diblock copolymers. Various analyses such as NMR, DSC, and TGA confirmed the structure and properties of the copolymers.