Multi-stimuli responsive boronic acid-containing polymers via recyclable nanoscale zerovalent iron (nZVI)-mediated photoRDRP in ionic liquid

A facile method based on recyclable nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI)-mediated photoRDRP in ionic liquid led to synthesis of narrow disperse poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) and poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate)-block-poly(4-vinylphenylboronic acid) (PDMAEMA-b-PVPBA) diblock copolymers thereof. Stimuli response of the PDMAEMA-b-PVPBA copolymer against changes in pH, temperature and sugar concentration is assessed. Recyclability of the nZVI (catalyst) and ionic liquid (solvent) is established. Polymerization can be shut down or turned on simply by turning off or on the UV-A irradiation. This temporal control of the polymerization might be useful for wide use of the developed protocol for spatiotemporal ON/OFF control. DFT calculations are performed to get the geometry of the involved species.

Automated summary

A facile method based on recyclable nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI)-mediated photoRDRP in ionic liquid led to the synthesis of narrow disperse poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) and poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate)-block-poly(4-vinylphenylboronic acid) (PDMAEMA-b-PVPBA) diblock copolymers. The stimuli response of the PDMAEMA-b-PVPBA copolymer to changes in pH, temperature, and sugar concentration was evaluated. The recyclability of the nZVI catalyst and ionic liquid solvent was confirmed. The polymerization process can be controlled by simply turning the UV-A irradiation on or off, providing temporal control for spatiotemporal ON/OFF applications. DFT calculations were conducted to determine the geometry of the involved species.